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The role of earth shrines in the socio-symbolic construction of the Dogon territory: towards a philosophy of containment

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13648470.2011.591194

1469-2910

Laurence Douny,

Anthropological Studies and Insights

Abstract This paper deals with the role of earth shrines in generating and maintaining social order and cohesion in a Dogon village on the Bandiagara escarpment (Mali, West Africa), in a context of scarcity. Earth shrines are erected at significant points in the landscape and in remote times symbolised the foundation of the territory. They form part of the ritual control of space by reinforcing, through sacrificial practice, a symbolic boundary that encloses and protects the village space. Through their yearly reactivation, this practice firstly enables the Dogon to strengthen their relationship with their god, their ancestors and the spirits that own the place and, secondly, it aims to renew social relationships and maintain the cohesion and continuity of the society whilst simultaneously conveying a sense of well-being. This paper examines the materiality, efficacy and activation principles of Dogon earth shrines that operate through the intervention of complementary living substances: millet and blood. These earth shrines function on an ontological principle of containment by which people protect themselves, act and dwell in the world. That is to say, they endow active principles and play a part in forming a local cosmology in a harsh and changing world. Keywords: shrinescontainmentsacrificewell-being Acknowledgements The author is grateful to the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for sponsoring this research, the CNRST and the Institut des Sciences Humaines in Bamako (Mali), Antiamba Tembelly and Balugo Saye, all the Dogon villagers who participated in this research, Professor Michael Rowlands for his feedback on an earlier version, and Professor Tim Insoll for organising the conference 'Shrines, Substances and Medicine in Africa: Archaeological, Anthropological and Historical Perspectives', as well as to all the participants for their feedback. Finally, the author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the paper and Paul Turner for copy-editing the text. Ethical clearance was not deemed necessary for this work. There were no conflicts of interest. Notes 1. This paper is the result of ongoing research on Dogon shrines. The main body of the research was conducted between 2003 and 2004 and in 2005 at various places in the Dogon region and predominantly in the Bandiagara escarpment region. It was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. 2. Dogon villages have innumerable shrines. First, there are the village shrines (e.g. earth shrines) that serve the entire village community. They can be cones made of earth and of different heights, a standing stone, a tree surrounded by a fence or a bush, a rock of a particular shape, and so on. They are set in a significant part of the landscape, for example, in a place that is associated with a spirit or ancestor or the history of the foundation of the village. Secondly, individual or family shrines strictly concern personal and family matters. These can be fixed or portable artefacts (altars) and they can come in various forms including cones (as described) or small pieces of pottery. These shrines are located in compounds or the ginna, which is the extended family house. 3. For example, the spirit of a woman who died during pregnancy is said to come back to kill newborn babies. 4. Dogon cosmogony as a system of representations or archetypes of the Dogon creation myth, as described by Griaule's team, is not considered here due to doubts about the veracity of these theories (van Beek 1991). 5. The author is aware of ongoing debates about Dogon Mande origin and ethnicity (e.g. van Beek 1991; Martinelli 1995; Bouju Citation1995). The data were collected and therefore cross-checked in multiple parts of the actual Dogon region where people claim their origin to be Mande. This aspect will be further developed in a forthcoming monograph. 6. Although the existence of the concept of nyama was refuted in specialised literature on the Dogon (e.g. van Beek 1991), the author of this paper came across this term in the Dogon villages where she undertook her research. The term nyama is in general use, notably among the Dogon elders in charge of rituals, traditional doctors and blacksmiths. The term nyama is also translated in the Dogon languages as follows: nômmo in Tengu so and three terms are used in Toro so: nyama, nômmo and teere. The information provided by the author's informants and repeated in this paper correlates with that found in the ethnographic literature the author has chosen to use in this paper. 7. All terms in this paper are expressed in the Toro so language. 8. The belief system includes four cults: Wagem, Lebe, Masks and Binu. 9. The people and places are all anonymous for ethical reasons. 10. Translation by Laurence Douny. 11. There are three Muno shrines and one Lebe shrine in the village where the research took place. 12. The author of the paper is aware of the large amount of existing literature on sacrifice, as well as the different schools (e.g. Colleyn Citation2004; Jonckers Citation1995; de Heusch Citation1985). Due to the lack of space, the mechanism as observed in the field is described and analysed by reference to a corpus of theories referring to the Mande area of West Africa. 13. The content of the prayers was not revealed to the author and could not be recorded. 14. The composition of the substance is produced by the guarantor of the sacrificial practice on a particular shrine. For example, animals to be sacrificed are never bought in a market, as it would not be possible to ensure the 'quality', that is the strength of the animal, and on the whole they would not know how the animal had been fed. 15. The composition was not revealed to the author. 16. As opposed to illi dyodya that refers to impure blood lacking nyama.