Dogon Country-Dijibombo

After arriving in Sevare I rented a guide and a motorbike and headed out for a few days in Dogon Country (Pays Dogon). It is an area of Mali that was difficult to colonize due to geographic reasons and the life and culture has remained untouched for centuries. Here's a wiki link for more info on the culture (click here)

Heading out of Sevare we passed donkey carts, women carrying fire wood from the villages (photo), other motorbikes, and the occasional sparkling 4 x 4 landcruiser blazing by. The scenery changed from the Sahela to mountainlike plateaus suurounded by errupting trees. Other people appeared less and less until we were the only two winding down paths into Dogon country on roads only big enough for the bike. I couldnt help but be reminded of motorcycle diaries.

We arrived at the first village called Dijibombo. Pointed huts lined the mud structures along the village. There were used to store the harvest in with the women's silo containing 4 chambers (beans, rice, millet, and peanuts) and then men's containing 1 (millet). We walked around the village and saw the places where the elder men had disussions (which was purposely made so no one could stand up during the discussion) and places where women did animal sacrifices with the cheif when they wanted a baby and were having difficulty concieving. Although traditionally many of the villages believed in animalistic religions, they had mostly converted to either christianity or islam now.

I had an interesting conversation with the cheif (photo) and we found each other very amusing. He began the conversation telling me he had 4 wives and asked what I thought about it. I asked if it was ok for me to have 4 husbands and he laughed and said it was not ok because if more than one man wanted me at once, they would fight. Women however do not fight. Also, he claimed, there are more female births in the village than male births so men must marry multiple women. I asked him why there was a difference in the number and he told me to ask Allah. I asked the cheif for the number of Allah and we had a laugh.

After random banter we shared some Malian tea which is drank in 3 courses. It is black tea brewed thrice: the first time is strong like death, the second time good like life and the third time sweet like love.