Dogon family compounds at the base of the Bandiagara escarpment, Ireli, Mali
Object Details
- Local Numbers
- T 1 DGN 56.2.2 EE 59
- General
- Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
- Local Note
- 57938 1 52
- Frame value is 17.
- Slide No. T 1 DGN 56.2.2 EE 59
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Collection Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Place
- Africa
- Mali
- Topic
- Vernacular architecture
- Cultural landscapes
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Culture
- Dogon (African people)
- See more items in
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Mali
- Extent
- 1 Slides (photographs) (col.)
- Date
- 1959
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EECL 16219
- Type
- Archival materials
- Slides (photographs)
- Color slides
- Collection Citation
- Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Collection Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. Where noted, some images remain under the copyright of Life/Shutterstock. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Color slides
- Scope and Contents
- "The word ginu stands for the house and the compound surrounding it. Walled in with a low stone fence that marks the limit but allows the neighbors and the passersby to look in, a Dogon house lies open to the rest of the world. A typical family compound has a hut for the man, a hut for each of his wives, and a fair number of granaries. An altar, tucked away in a corner of the compound, and if possible situated under an overhanging rock, serves for worship and sacrifices." [Hollyman S. and Van Beek W., 2001: Dogon, Africa's People of the Cliffs. Harry N Abrams, Inc.]. A village like Ireli, one of the larger ones along the cliffs, comprises eight wards: Nattaye, Oro, Bara, Dama, Toro, Ida, Niene and Ganie. The village at the foot of the Bandiagara escarpment is approximately one kilometer long and is divided by a steep-walled gorge accessible only by foot. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
- Record ID
- ebl-1536870822481-1536871014831-4
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
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