57 Under the Dogon Sky

Sò tɛ́nú Dogon

Bandiagara |

Mali

Dogon

Behind the scenes

For me, Malian music is among the most beautiful in the world. It made me want to discover the culture and landscapes from which it was born.
With my wife, we traveled through several regions of Mali. It was in Dogon country, along the Bandiagara Escarpment with its breathtaking landscapes, that I felt the desire to write this text and share these places.

Everything here invites contemplation: the toguna, meeting houses with carved pillars, the customs unique to each village, and the spectacular ceremonies we were fortunate to witness, especially a Dama, a major ritual ceremony where tall masks appear, worn by dancers.
The nights were just as striking: the stars shone with rare intensity. Under this Dogon sky, the visible and invisible worlds seemed to be in constant dialogue.

During this journey, I took notes and made sketches, which later nourished both the text and its illustrations.

Echoes of the world

The text is written in a Dogon language, part of the larger Niger-Congo language family, spoken by the Dogon people of Mali along the Bandiagara Escarpment.

The title So tenu Dogon means “Under the Dogon sky.” In these languages, certain marks indicate tones: for example, a rising accent can change the pitch of the voice and alter the meaning of a word. As in many African languages, the musicality of speech is an essential part of meaning.

In Dogon culture, the sky is also linked to a well-known cosmogony, a set of narratives explaining the origin of the universe. According to this tradition, the world was created by Amma, the creator god who organizes the cosmos and brings the first beings into existence.