Page 26 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 4

AFRIKA IS GOD'S
lying down. The toguna, where
the men meet to parlay is the
head of the body. It is the most
important building and is even
the first building that is built in
a village. Its roof is made of
layers of millet representing the
cliffs the plains and the plateau.
The Dogon structures also meet
the requirement for balance and
symmetry and come in a male
and female granary with elab-
orate doors that have carvings
representing each family's
history.
The Dogon practice circumci-
sion on both men and women.
They say that men were born
with a dual nature and that re-
moval of the foreskin eliminates
this duality, preserving the purer
nature. They view the clito-
ris as a male organ and they
remove it in its entirety during
female circumcision.
Knowledge of Astronomy
The Dogon have confounded
western astronomers with their
knowledge of the Sirius Star.
They revealed to French as-
tronomers their knowledge that
Sirius is made up of three stars,
and that one of them revolves
around the other in a cycle of
fifty years. While the westerners
say they have not found the
third star, they say it is impos-
sible that the Dogon could
have acquired this information
without external assistance and
support because the star is too
far to see with the naked eye.
Not only that, the Dogon knew
about Sirius B and its orbit
around Sirius A thousands of
years before western astrono-
mers found out about it.
The Dogon say that they re-
ceived this information from vis-
itors from Sirius, who arrived in
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AFRIKA IS GOD'S
a vessel that made much noise.
These visitors are tied closely to
the origin and creation beliefs of
the Dogon. They are also con-
nected to their spiritual practic-
es and renowned mask dances
that they carry out in various
seasons.
Spirituality
Dogon priests are exclusively
male and use a distinct lan-
guage that only they are al-
lowed to learn. The priests wear
or carry masks which are used
for special ceremonies. The
Dogon communicate with the
gods through a mixture of sacri-
fices, divination and purification
rites. These are performed by
Binu priests who are said to
share a special relationship
with the gods - and through the
Hogon.
Editor's note
Many of the sources studied for this piece suggest that the western as-
tronomers believe that the Dogon had some connection with Egyptians
at some point, explaining their understanding of complex astronomy,
but that to me sounds like another attempt to explain away knowledge
and understanding that Afrikans had that the white man could not ex-
plain. It seems to be a case of 'you don't seem good enough to know
what you know, there must be another explanation that in our eyes
seems great enough'. And even at that, the ancient Egyptians are also
Black Afrikans. Whatever the case may be, it is necessary for Afrikans
to now carefully consider what they had before colonialism, present it
before God and ask Him what He thinks instead of simply dismissing it
as backward or limited in some way. What do you say?
Dogon architecture (A mosque)
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