The Traditional Culture of Dogon (Mali) in the Context of Islamic Civilization

The article examines the phenomenon of the penetration of elements of pre-Islamic decor into the architecture of mosques in the Dogon Country (Mali). In the case of Dogon architecture, one can observe a very peculiar version of the interaction of traditional culture with Islam. In itself, the use of forms and types of architectural structures traditional for the given territory is well known - it is enough to recall the Ottoman mosques. With the Dogon, the situation is different: the architecture of mosques reproduces not just the decor of a building directly related to traditional religion, but precisely those details of it that are associated with the worship of "idols", or fetishes. Similar incidents were recorded in other areas of Dogon modern traditional culture. A typical example is the prophet Amabir (Amabirɛ, “Creation of the Lord”, abbreviated as Abirɛ) Goro (Goro), who owns the prophecy that some day or other the Dogon will return to the Mande Country. The Dogon consider Amabire, and not Muhammad, the "last prophet" and connect the legend about him with the history of Islam in Mali. These cases indicate the penetration of pagan elements into Muslim architecture, as well as the penetration of Islam into pagan folklore and a clear desire to link them with each other. So this is evidence of the synthesis of Islam and traditional culture: pagan elements of Dogon heritage are no longer recognized as such, and Islamic elements are not identified by the Dogon only with religion

Ancient history · Archaeology · Civilization · Folklore · Islam · Islamic culture · Theology · Worship · Cultural and Sociopolitical Studies · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Philosophy · Religious studies · Architecture

• Islamic Influence and Dogon Cultural Synthesis

  Open Access•Piotr A Kutsenkov, Petr A Kutsenkov•Journal of Contemporary Rituals…•2024

  Add to list