Final Paper

Architectures as a remembrance of history :

an exploration of the relationship between indigenous architecture and traditional cults in Dogon

I. Introduction

With the miraculous booming economies in our modern day era, commercial buildings and financial centers top the most highly-demanded projects in urban cities; simultaneously, modern aesthetics and space-maximization appear to be the foremost priority in these everyday buildings. This was evidently exemplified during the recent World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, in which every country showcased their best architectural concepts and technology with respective pavilion. Thus, one might be marveled when exposed to a Dogon village, where traditional religious beliefs dominate others factors in most, if not all, of the public and private constructions. In this following paper, I will focus on the three major architectural constructions that form a Dogon village : the Ginna, which is associated with the Wegem cult; House of the Hogon, which is associated with the Lebe cult and finally the Binu Shrine which belongs to the Binu cul . Moving forward from the analysis of these landmarks, it will become apparent that they do not solely function as sacred sites for cult-related rituals, but more critically, they serve as an objectification of the historical past, to remind the Dogon people their ancestors, their past, and their roots; which all in turn contribute to the formation of a structured society based on collective knowledge.

II. The ever-changing History

Prior moving into the various constructions of the three cults, it is necessary for us to firstly gain an insight of the Dogon area in general as well as its founding myth. The Dogon are found in the administrative region of Mopti in the French Soudan; they inhibit the cliffs of Bandiagara and Hombori and spread out on to the plain which lies to the south of these cliffs (Tait, 1950). While the total population figure of Dogon is not certain, the region of Sanga, in which the Dogon-exploration pioneer Missions Griaule were concentrated on, is comprised of fifteen villages of which the largest contains approximately eight-hundred souls (Tait, 1950). Of these fifteen different villages, nice practice Islam and six practice other religions, including Christianity and the unique animism, which is less main-stream to us. This scattered geographical and social pattern of Mali is exactly what makes this area so captivating to anthropologists : while there is little documentation of Dogon history, countless stories about past fills the brick huts as colorful tales are passed on orally from generation to generation. Here, based on Oosterling's article, “Oedipus and the Dogon: the myth of modernity interrogated”, I will give a shortened summary of Dogon's most prominent creation myth which surrounds a god called Amma, which will not only be useful in the context of understanding Dogon cult's architects, but also in analyzing the significance of these physical buildings due to the ever-changing Dogon “history” : it all began with a supernatural power called Amma and his creation of the Earth as his wife. As he laid her in the sky with her head to the North and her feet to the South, Amma wanted to mate with the Earth; but the Earth refused and “stood up” her sex organ – in form of a termite hill. However, Amma insisted and forcefully removed the hills so that the union can take place, which is socially reproduced as female circumcision in present day Dogon. Due to the fact that this act was a violation, the Earth did not give birth to the expected twins Nommo, but to a cursed Fox. Disappointed with the Fox, Amma alone created the Nommo twins, who since then had been acting as the ultimate authorities for the human population to follow (Oosterling, 1989). In accordance with this principle of twin-ness, Dogon villages are built in pairs, with one referred to as the Upper and the other as Lower; a pair of villages of this sort is regarded as Heaven and the Earth united (Griaule and Dieterlen, 1954). This story, like many Dogon customs, has been told As demonstrated with this creation myth, has been diffused in many different accounts : for instance, some say that Amma actually split into two Ogo – a representation of disorder – and later created Nommo to restore order. As illustrated by the creation myth, in an exclusively oral community like that of the Dogon people, history is never fact nor consensus. With each passing of the story, words and interpretations are bound to change, even if ever so slightly, and after eras can be meld into completely different chronicles; this notion of the historical uncertainty leads itself to this essay's argument : that Dogon cults' architectural constructions will reveal themselves to be more than solely sacred rites, but furthermore, they serve to objectify selected parts of the Dogon people's past; and in particular, the past that details the journeys of their ancestors.

It is crucial for one to acknowledge that in Dogon, architecture, social organization and religions can never be dissociated; they are all intertwined in the process of a village formation. Before analyzing the three major buildings in a Dogon village, here is an overview of the major themes of the three cults that this paper will address : the Wagem cult focuses on the ancestors of the extended family; the Lebe cult operates the renewal of the land and of the Dogon people and lastly, the Binu cult focuses on maintaining harmony between the human community and the supernatural forces of the forest and the bush (Blom, 2009). Therefore, we will see that the various types of buildings that form a Dogon village go together with the local cults that govern religious life.

III. The Ginna

The first major cult that holds a Dogon community is called the Wagem cult. Membership of this Wagem cult is transmitted from a father to his children and every pregnant woman before labour sacrifices to the Wagem ancestor shrine in oder that the child she is about to bear will become a Wagem i, i.e., child of the ancestors (Tait, 1950). In totality, it is more appropriate and realistic to consider the Wagem cult as a blood-connected familial community as opposed to the modern religious concept that we perceive. Ancestral relationships are immensely emphasized in the Wagem cult and each person's respective relationship to the ancestor defines one's living area in the Dogon village. “Ginna” refers to the house of a village's founder, which is placed at the center of an extended patrilineal family. Here, the system of choosing a successor is driven by blood-connection : the most senior member among the successors in direct descent of the territorial founder will become the lineage elder and is entitled “Ginna Banga”, which means that he is now the head of the extended family and is in charge of the Wagem cult within his village (Blom, 2009). In situations where a village is made up of several ancestral quarters, each quarter will then have its very own Ginna. Each quarter or group of people that are related to a specific Ginna is called tire Ginna; each tire Ginna functions as a more or less independent unit of production, consumption and reproduction; and as such can be said to constitute the basic domestic or household group within Dogon society (Lane, 2006). Moving onto the actual architectural aspects, Ginna is a two-storied building in which the Ginna Banga habitats on the ground floor; the second floor is a granary storage space for the extended family and most importantly, the Wagem, i.e. the ancestor altar, is placed on the Ginna's roof terrace. This Wagem altar is the foremost defining characteristic of a Ginna; it is made up of a set of bowls where each bowl represents an respective ancestor. The founder, his successors and the other elder men of the village all have their own bowl in this altar, they believe that these bowls serve as a receptacle of their souls (Blom, 2009). The Dogon society is gerontocratic; elders are the intermediaries in the Wagem cult of the ancestors, since they are the future ancestors themselves. This male-dominating ritual reveals that the purpose of the Wagem cult is for men to stay in contact as well as to maintain a emotional dialogue with their ancestors, whom should never be forgotten.

The Ginna's altar function as the ritual site of the cult, in which family members will make sacrifices during different occasions. As documented by Blom, the “Gorou” ritual tops the most essential ceremony in each Wagem cult. The “Gorou” takes place once every year in either December or January in which each Ginna commemorates all the ancestors of the extended family by making sacrifices; it is believed that the ancestors' souls would come back and drink from their respective bowls. To satisfy the religious faith of the Dogon people, this “Gorou” ritual is not only limited to happening at the Ginna; each family actually maintains an altar, called the Tire Kabu, at home for their own deceased family members. As mentioned previously, the Ginna's altar is also where the new born infants are presented to the ancestors; this patrilineal kin group is thus held to be a “reflection of the first mystical family from that part of the world egg in which all events unfold in order, the generations following one another in normal fashion” (Griaule and Dieterlen, 1954). Moreover, “Gorou” is also the time when the elders in charge of the Ginna decide whether it is the right time to start preparations for Dama, which is an elaborate mask festival that enables the recently deceased to attain the formal status of being an ancestor. If the Ginna's elders decide to launch a new Dama, they will ask the village's political leader – Hogon (will be discussed in details later) – to obtain permission from all the other tie Ginnas in the village; in cases where other tie Ginnas reject the offer, a new request can be formulated at the next annual Gorou (Blom, 2009).

4. House of the Hogon

In the Dogon society, the Lebe cult is devoted to Lebe Serou, the first ever ancestor of the Dogon brought to earth by Amma. Lebe Serou was a god-like snake creature that was “responsible for the integrity of the cultivated land”(Griaule and Dieterlen, 1954). He guided his people to their new homeland but was later cursed and sacrificed on earth via death; he was buried in the Mande and returned to the sky to live with God, Amma (Boyd-Buggs and Scott, 2003). It is believed that the physical earth from his grave in the Mande was taken on a journey eastwards to a village near Kani Bonzon; there, a first altar was erected by mixing the Lebe Serou's earth and the ones of the new land which marks the beginning of the Lebe Cult. From then onwards, each tribe took a part of the Lebe's earth and built an altar that contains some of this ancestral earth in each new found village (Blom, 2009). The oldest man in a village automatically becomes chief priest of a Lebe cult, called the Hogon, lives in this altar. According to Blom's field visit in Dogon, he noted that the Hogon must observe all the local taboos : any traveller passing through will find out soon enough that it is strictly forbidden to even shake hands. Once enthroned, the Hogon is no longer allowed to have physical contact of any sort with anyone, including his wives and children. While his first wife will continue to prepare his meals, chastity remains obligatory until death. Moreover, the Hogon is not allowed to leave this Lebe compound at all; when necessary, reunions with guests will have to be held at the Hogon's house.

Interestingly, this Hogon's house, or the Lebe altar, is actually built in a way to present the Dogon's model of the universe; exemplifying this essay's focus on the objectification of Dogon's historical creation myth using rigid architectural constructions. Griaule recorded his observations of the Lebe altar in detail in his famous collaboration work with Dieterlen, “The Dogon”: With either figures made of millet pulp or in reliefs of puddled earth, the altar itself portrays the beneficent Heaven. On the wall behind the platform where the Hogon officially “sits” is painted the Northern Stars to the left, the Stars of the South to the right; simultaneously, facing the platform, the Sun is painted on the wall between the two doors of the East. Zooming out, the Lebe House is entered a flight of eight stairs which represent the first eight chiefs of the Lebe cult, thus symbolically speaking, the present Hogon follows in the steps of his predecessors; once again proving the cruciality of historical past in present day buildings. This connotations of the eight ancestors does not stop here : to the left of the compound's entrance is the Hogon's own hut, also known as Toguna, which is also approached by eight steps; right besides the Toguna lies once again eight stones which serve as seats when the Hogon sits in judgement; on the other side, to the right of the entrance is a row of eight stones which represent the eight Hogons of the future instead of the past. By the side of these eight “future” stones sit a hallow stone, which functions as altar where the spirits of the deceased chiefs would come to drink from. Here, one can deduce that Dogon architectures do not only try to contain the historical past, but furthermore, they connect and intertwine the past, present and future together within one space, all joint together by the same cult's faith. Through the Lebe compound's careful design, not only is the Hogon's daily life set against that of a background which showcases the world in miniature, but the compound is also ingeniously positioned in a way that his daily movements actually symbolize the motive and sacred power that animates the universe. For instance, beginning at dawn, seated with his face towards the East, the Hogon is present and responsible for the rising of the sun; towards the end of the day, he will then take his new seat facing towards the West, controlling the arrival of the dark. Thus, to be precise, the Hogon participates in the universal and natural rhythms of the world simply by his movements about his compound.

V. The Binu Shrine

The Dogon creation myth that was explained earlier in this essay is indeed the foundation of m­most, if not all, cults in Dogon. The Binu cult finds part of its fundamental faith in the primeval myth of death, which is actually related to the Nommo twins of the Dogon creation myth. This Binu myth explains the discovery of death by the ancient ancestors: shortly before the physical appearance of death, when the elders were becoming too old, they would transform themselves into a large python snake and dwell in the country's ponds and rivers. Through this act, they are believed to start a new life as a water spirit called Binu, which assembles the water spirit, Nommo, in the creation myth (Bouju, 2003). For instance, in “Graine de l'homme, enfant du mil”, Bouju gives the following encounter : In the village of Sibi-Sibi the Karambe clan's totem is a snake. One day an inhabitant of Sibi-Sibi was saved from drowning by a water serpent. It was through the animal's intermediary that the Binu manifested its alliance with the Karambe clan. Since that day, it is strictly forbidden for the Karambe to hunt, kill or consume snakes. The formation of a Binu community is closely connected with the Wagem cult that was mentioned earlier on: several patrilineages, i.e. Wagem or domestic unit, will join together to make a Binu clan(Blom, 2009). Thus, every individual is attached to the Binu cult of his father and therefore belongs to an exogamous agnatic group wider than his major lineage; this affiliation is indicated by the name of the Binu which is given to him by the priest at his birth (Griaule and Dieterlen, 1954) Each Binu clan's leadership belongs to the Binu priest, whose mission is of extremely different nature as that of the very political Hogon : The Binu priest is responsible for maintaining a harmonic co-existence between the supernatural forces of the Bush and his clan members; members will go to him for all kinds of problems with a mystical nature, such as unexplained diseases and divination.

The defining architectural work of the Binu cult is undeniably the Binu Shrine. A Binu shrine contains the altars dedicated to the clan ancestors, it is also where the Binu rituals or festivals take place. Binu shrine is a single-chambered constructions decorated with reliefs and geometric designs; its facades feature rounded turrets, inset niches and mounds. Running down of front of this shrine are white marks and streaks indicating that animal blood, millet porridge and other substances that are being sacrificed during agrarian rites (Bickford and Smith, 1997). These agrarian rites are to ensure the coming of the rain, the regeneration of nature as well as the abundance of harvests of the Binu cult. As we have seen earlier, the Binu cult honors the mythical immortal ancestor who never experienced death and this theme is portrayed throughout Binu shrines with the use of wooden statues : a carved human figure can represent one of the immortal ancestors prior to being transformed into a snake or it can represent a real person, the one who founded the cult in the village and created the local Binu shrine (Grunne, 1988). This wooden statue is also vital during Binu rituals, for example, during his investiture ceremony, the future priest of a Binu cult would climb up to the roof of the Binu sanctuary wearing only a white apron and his head completely shaved; simultaneously, a former priest would sacrifice a chicken over this new priest's head. The blood is poured onto his skull and over a duge stone which is worn around his neck, which symbolizes a miniature altar in which the Binu's soul can visit the new priest(Grunne, 1988). During this whole ceremony, the new priest is considered to be possessed by the vital force and soul of the Binu ancestor captured within the wooden statue. Once again, we see here that most representational cult architectures revolve around the attempt of linking the past (Binu ancestor represented by the statue), the present (the ceremony) and the future (the new priest and his duge stone necklace which the Binu ancestor could possess in the future) together with a tangible object which solidifies the mythical past.

VI. Conclusion

Combining the analysis of the three major Dogon cults of Wagem, Lebe and Binu, we see that Dogon culture contains complex knowledge systems based on an understanding of a sacred universe sustained by a synergy of individual, ancestral, communal, natural, spiritual and cosmological forces that animate all of their everyday physical reality. For thousands of years, Dogon's life was organized and evolved around the manipulation and balancing of all these forces. While myths and fantasticals have no place in main-stream Westernized scientific and philosophical development, a new framework to interpreting Dogon's “notoriously” religious system of knowledge is necessary. As translated by Griaule and Dieterlen, the Dogon uses four divisions of knowledge: girl so, benne so, bolo so and so dayi. Girl so, which translates to “fore-word”, means simplified knowledge; events are simplified and fantasized and so includes visible things and rituals. The benne so, which translates to “side-word”, contains the words of the girl so with deeper explanations; yet, it does not become clear until other levels of knowledge are revealed; the bolo so, “back-word”, proceeds further to complete the knowledge of girl so and benne so, but it still does not reveal the very secret parts; finally, so dayi, “clear-word”, is knowledge in its ordered complexity. We can conclude that these divisions of knowledge represent a multidimensional and holistic approach towards knowledge. The challenge of Dogon scholars now is to find an epistemology inclusive of the phenomena that transcend time, space, circumstance and the supposedly “logical” five-sense reasoning, just like how the Dogon has already been practicing for centuries : by employing architectural constructions to link the uncertain past, present and future all together.

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