13th century – 15th century
Bandiagara cliffs and Niger Bend, West Africa
The Dogon are a people associated in the excerpt with the Bandiagara cliffs and the Hombori mountain range along the Niger Bend. Their communities lived in small mountain villages beyond effective control by the rulers of the savannah, defeating repeated attempts at subjugation. Oral traditions place their movement from Mande and settlement around Sanga in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while comparative pottery studies are said to support contacts with Malinke communities around Niani.
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The Story
The Dogon lived in the Bandiagara cliffs, part of the Hombori mountain range along the Niger Bend. Their villages clung to mountain slopes, and the rulers of the surrounding savannah exercised little authority over them. Repeated attempts to subject the Dogon ended in defeat, making their mountain environment both a refuge and a foundation for political autonomy.
According to Dogon oral tradition, they left Mande and settled around Sanga during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The tradition also states that they encountered earlier mountain inhabitants called Tellern, a name glossed as meaning “we found them there.” These predecessors were said to have departed toward Yatenga after the Dogon’s arrival, although the passage stresses that many questions about both communities remain unanswered.
The excerpt presents a southern, Mande origin for the Dogon as broadly accepted, while cautioning that the historical details remain uncertain. Comparative studies of pottery from the Dogon and Malinke around Niani are described as tending to confirm contact between the two peoples. The Dogon therefore appear within a wider history of migration, mountain settlement, cultural exchange, and interaction with the political societies of the Niger Bend.
13th century – 15th century
Bandiagara cliffs and Niger Bend, West Africa
The Dogon are a people associated in the excerpt with the Bandiagara cliffs and the Hombori mountain range along the Niger Bend. Their communities lived in small mountain villages beyond effective control by the rulers of the savannah, defeating repeated attempts at subjugation. Oral traditions place their movement from Mande and settlement around Sanga in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while comparative pottery studies are said to support contacts with Malinke communities around Niani.
Continue exploring
The Story
The Dogon lived in the Bandiagara cliffs, part of the Hombori mountain range along the Niger Bend. Their villages clung to mountain slopes, and the rulers of the surrounding savannah exercised little authority over them. Repeated attempts to subject the Dogon ended in defeat, making their mountain environment both a refuge and a foundation for political autonomy.
According to Dogon oral tradition, they left Mande and settled around Sanga during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The tradition also states that they encountered earlier mountain inhabitants called Tellern, a name glossed as meaning “we found them there.” These predecessors were said to have departed toward Yatenga after the Dogon’s arrival, although the passage stresses that many questions about both communities remain unanswered.
The excerpt presents a southern, Mande origin for the Dogon as broadly accepted, while cautioning that the historical details remain uncertain. Comparative studies of pottery from the Dogon and Malinke around Niani are described as tending to confirm contact between the two peoples. The Dogon therefore appear within a wider history of migration, mountain settlement, cultural exchange, and interaction with the political societies of the Niger Bend.
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