essay
Harmony versus autonomy: models of agricultural fertility among the Dogon and the Kapsiki
Creative communion : African folk models in fertility and the regeneration of life • (15) • Published In 1990 • Pages: 285-305
By: Beek, W. E. A. van.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article van Beek discusses the history of Dogon settlement, subsistence patterns, and related symbolism. According to van Beek, the Dogon settled the Bandiagara escarpment, beginning in the 15th century, as a defense against slave raiders. The sandstone rocks of the cliffs also held water year-round, compared to the arid plateau and plains. The Dogon culitvated the fields below the cliffs. The closest fields were owned by elders and worked by extended familes. Those further out were owned and worked by younger men, who formed large work groups for protection from slave raiding bands. French pacification ended the need for protection and the Dogon moved further out onto the plain, forming new settlements. Van Beek discusses the land ownership patterns and cropping patterns of this later period, which he compares to those of the Kapsiki.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Annual cycle
- Agriculture
- Diet
- Land use
- Settlement patterns
- Real property
- Production and supply
- 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
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnographer
- 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
- Ian Skoggard;1999
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1978-1989
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1400-1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Bandiagara escarpment, Mali
- NotesAdditional notes
- Walter E. A. van Beek
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 305)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 91174326
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Dogons (African people)