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.
Abstract
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.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- Africa
- Sub Region
- Western Africa
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard;1999
- Field Date
- 1978-1989
- Coverage Date
- 1400-1990
- Coverage Place
- Bandiagara escarpment, Mali
- Notes
- Walter E. A. van Beek
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 305)
- LCCN
- 91174326
- LCSH
- Dogons (African people)