Book

The souls of the Dogons

Institut d'Ethnologie • Paris • Published In 1942 • Pages: HRAF MS: i, 307 [original: viii, 314 ]

By: Dieterlen, Germaine, Granka, Sherri L..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

The present work is part of a series of studies utilizing the various ethnographic documents collected in the French Sudan during the Griaule missions of 1931-1939, and concentrating on the Dogon of the Cliffs of Bandiagara. During the course of these expeditions a thorough analysis was made of the religious institutions of the Dogon with particular reference to the concept of nyama, the vital force within all animate and sometimes inanimate things. This study delves into the intricacies of the nyama concepts - its acquisition, relationship to the persona, to the world of the ancestors, and perhaps, most important of all, to the kikinu say, the soul. In the first chapter of this work the author summarizes various myths, already published in ‘Masques Dogons’, (see 8: Griaule, this file), as a framework and guide to Dogon religious concepts which she believes is necessary for an understanding of the cults described in the text. This is followed by a brief history of the migration of the Dogon into the area. With the location of the Dogon in time and place established, Dieterlen proceeds to discuss the notion of the individual soul. In chapter 2 she attempts to show how the individual's “personality” links him to supernatural powers and to the ancestors described in the myths, while at the same time tieing him to the land, to towns, and to the present-day society. Chapter 3 of this work treats death and the human reactions to death involving the separation of the soul from the body and its sojourn thereafter. Despite the departure of the soul, contact is maintained with the living through the office of the nani or respondent, a lineal descendant, who offers personal worship to the soul which the Dogon believe will help it to travel the course it must take in the afterworld. The various ramifications of this relationship are discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 deals primarily with the altars on which sacrifices are made to the ancestors, and on the nature of the sacrifices themselves. In chapter 6, the discussion turns to specific cases of souls belonging to deceased individuals with specific conditions that modify their status, while chapter 7 deals specifically with the souls of the priests of the various religious cults. The conclusion, pp. 277-281, summarizes the present state of knowledge on the Dogon concept of the soul and suggests new prospective inquiries which hopefully would contribute further explanations necessary for the understanding of the Dogon.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Animism

Eschatology

Spirits and gods

Prayers and sacrifices

Cult of the dead

Priesthood

Congregations

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Dogon

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2000

RegionThe area the document pertains to

Africa

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Western Africa

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

Book

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Ethnologist

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

John Beierle ; 1987

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

1937-1939

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1936-1939

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

Sanga area, Bandiagara Circle, Mopti Region, Mali

NotesAdditional notes

Germaine Dieterlen

Translation of: Les âmes des Dogons

The original French text is not included

Translated for the HRAF files by Sherri L. Granka

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

46003437

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Dogons (African people)