Week #22 Six Days in the Dogon Region

Without question the Dogon region is Mali's biggest tourist destination. Dogon country, as it is referred, includes hundreds of small villages neslted along a huge escarpment, about 50 miles east of the city of Mopti. It is a truely magical part of Africa with some extremely isolated hamlets positioned high atop the cliffs, and long deserted ruins of the mysterious Tellem people scattered everywhere along the cliff, most of them hundreds of feet above the ground on extremely steep and smooth rock.

We began our trip with a visit to the mountain top town of Bandjougou, located about 25 km from Sevare, a short climb off of the main paved road to Bandiagara.

We found this town to be very beautiful. All of the houses are constructed of stone, and the town, perched on the edge of a cliff, looks down on huge millet fields.

Looking west from Bandjougou toward Goundaka


Looking East with millet fields in the valley below.

Impressive Stone construction using very limited tools and the kids especially liked the ladder.

From Bandjougou we moved on to Bandiagara for a quick lunch and then proceeded out to the escarpment to visit the cliff-side dogon villages of Teli and Ende. These towns are frequented by tourists, and for good reason. They sit below spectacular cliff ruins, some of which were only abandoned within the past decade.

Looking up at the old village of Teli from the new village, and a view of the present village of Teli from above.(Note some of the ancient Tellem ruins high above!)

Amid the cliff ruins of Teli.

The Ende Festival of Danses and Masks

A short video clip of the mask dance.

Up on the roof of a mud brick building in Ende.

The next day we visited Kani Bonzon. This tiny hamlet is said to be the first Dogon village to be settled on the falaise, and we found it to be a very fun excursion. The village is completely concealed from the lower plains below the cliff, and is only accessible by a rough rocky path. The many deserted stone structures speak of the hardship living in this part of the cliff. Many villagers have moved down to lower ground where farming is easier, but a few hearty families remain on the rocky ledges. As you can see from the landscape, water and land for fields is very limited, and people actually brought soil up by hand to use for their small gardens.

Amazing stone walls that are over six feet high yet only 6-8 inches thick!

In this short video clip a huge crowd of children chant as Jenna and Gus help a neighbor pound millet.

Our final day in Dogon country turned out to be our most ambitious. A 6+ mile hike that began with a steep hike up through bands of ledge to the top of the escarpment, and weaved us through the tiny isolated Dogon villages of Indelou and Begni Mato.

Daddy ended up paying for pushing the kids this hard on such a long day in the bush!

A tiny road now links Indelou with the outside world, and tourist money enabled the town to construct its first school. Notice that Jenna holds a stick to keep the attention of some unruly students!

A new section of the school still under construction.

About half way between Sevare and Bandiagara is a road sign for the village of Goundaka. Although this town rarely gets any tourist visits, it holds a significant place in the early history of Mali, as the birthplace of the fierce Fulani warrior Humdodedjo and the center of an area known as Kanari. There are numerous Fulfulde "Hoddu" griot stories about this ruler, and he still holds great notoriety among the Fulani. My connection to this village relates to one of Humbodedjo's sons, another famous fierce warrior named Gueladio Humbodedjo.

Gueladio had a falling out with his first cousin, who happened to be the powerful Muslim cleric, Sekou Amadou of Hamdallaye. In order to prevent a major split in the Fulani leadership, Sekou Amadou gave Gueladio a special stick and told him to leave Gundaka, and Mali, and not to stop until Gueladio was able to break the stick. After several months traveling through the bush, Gueladio snapped the stick in a small valley in what is now southern Niger. Gueladio settled in this valley and named it Kanari Keyri (the new Kanari). About 200 years later, in 1990, this village was to become my home when I served as a Peace Corps volunteer.

The villagers in Goundaka were were very hospitable and were excited to learn stories about some of their distant relatives in Kanari Keyri. Economic hardships have prevented anyone from Goundaka from visiting Ouro Gueladio for over a decade, and the same holds true for people in Ouro Gueladio. In fact, I met only one man who recalled traveling to Kanari Keyri, when he was a small boy in Koranic school.

A rough night camping in the back of the truck on the way back from the Dogon. Good thing we had our "Thomas the Train" pillow!

Forget about the Dogon, where is my remote-control truck?

Gus' favorite expression "Now this is what I'm talkin' about!"

Swimming in Teryia Bugu on New Years Eve Day... Not quite as bold as jumping into a frozen lake!

Week #21 Christmas in Mali

When you click on these images notice that the kids are flying homemade kites fabricated out of old plastic bags and scraps of wood. The wind on top of the garbage dump tended to be best for flying the kites!

This photo was taken at the "laying of the first brick" ceremony for a new clinic on the outskirts of Bamako. Fellow Vermonter Caitlin Cohen founded the small NGO responsible spearheading the clinic project.

Swarms of small children engulf us. Although they have seen many Westerners, they were extremely curious to see young white children in their midst.

Our star at the AISB Christmas Show!

Nothing like a little face paint and season 2 from the Dukes of Hazzard DVD collection

when you get a little homesick!