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Saved: November 30th 2021
Pays Dogon. Dogon Country. Beautiful. Spectacular. Surprising.
Our trek into the Dogon Country started early from Bandiagara with a drive to Djiguibombo (delightfully pronounced Jiggy-boom-bo). After a brief tour of the town we started our walk to the edge of the Falaise de Bandiagara (Bandiagara Escarpment) and then down the escarpment to the plains below. Our group of two had grown to four with the addition of Yo and Mama. Yo is from France and Mama is from Burkina Faso. They speak almost no English and we speak spotty French. Our guide, Lac, helps us to translate sometimes, but for the most part we use lots of charades and sign language to get our points across which results in very animated conversations. They are an enjoyable and interesting couple to share the Dogon Country with. Our intended journey is to take us to Teli for the first night; Begnimato (Benny-matto)for the second and Nombori for the third ... but you already know what I am going to say ... the best laid plans ...
If you haven't read up on the Dogon, here is a brief explanation of why this area is so intriguing:
The Dogon people live above
Top of the Falaise
Looking out over the plains below.and below the incredible Falaise de Bandiagara which stretches for 150 km to the east. The landscape is truly spectacular, and the Dogon people are noted for their complex culture and art forms and also their unique houses and granaries. Before the Dogon people, the Tellum lived in this area and they built dwellings and granaries high up the cliff face in the most inaccessible of areas. The Dogon then built similar villages into the escarpment, but never as high as the original Tellum dwellings. Today, the Dogon live in villages either ontop of the escarpment or below, and are famous for the Dogon Onion which they grow in abundance along with millet and beans.
Our walk down the escarpment is incredible. We are treated to spectacular views of the rocky bluffs and the vast, dusty plains below. The first day is overcast and there is a perpetual haze in the air (as you've likely noticed in many of our photos - this is from the Harmattan winds that cloud the sky with sand from the desert from February to June). The hardy Canadians that we are, we are in our sturdy walking shoes with our MEC day packs
Falaise de Bandiagara
Looking back up the escarpment. securely strapped to our backs. Our guide is in flip flops, Mama is in black patent dress shoes (no socks) and Yo is Moroccan leather shoes. As we are gingerly picking our way down the trail we are passed by two local ladies, one in flip flops and the other barefoot, carrying large loads of wood on their heads - sigh - so much for being hardy Canadians. We reach the town of Kani-Kombolé around 10:30 am to have a rest, lunch and visit the market before heading off later in the day to avoid the heat. We are spoiled on this trekking trip as we will be eating 3 times a day, something we don't normally do. The heat is almost bearable because the sun is not beating down and there is a slight breeze. Maybe we are getting acclimatized? We enjoy the colourful, small market of Kani-Kombolé that is surprisingly not touristy, even though this town is on many trekking routes, eat a delicious lunch of couscous and sauce and then visit the mosque and the nearby Tellum dwellings before heading off for Teli. The distances between villages are short, which allows us to avoid the heat of
Falaise de Bandiagara 2
Looking along the escarpment from below. the day for the most part.
After a brief rest at our campement in Teli, we head up the escarpment to investigate the original Dogon villages and get a closer look at the Tellum dwellings. This was a highlight for us. We didn't think we would get a chance to wander around, in and over the Dogon villages clinging to the cliff face. It is truly mindboggling that these people built villages into this landscape. I hope the pictures do the scenery some justice.
For dinner, we asked our guide if we could try the beans that the Dogon grow in this region. All the food is served with a yummy tomato and Dogon onion sauce, including the beans. We love the beans and sauce and find that the addition of meat is not necessary for our enjoyment of the food. We sleep on the roof for the first time. Our sleep sheets were the perfect weight as the air actually gets cool towards morning (yay!). It was wonderful to lie on the roof and look at the starry sky and feel a breeze. The only complaint I had was the braying donkeys that carried on all night
long. All the other animals went to sleep, the chickens and roosters, the goats and sheep, even the dogs were quiet, but the blasted donkeys kept up their loud (albeit comical sounding) braying all night long! In Teli we met a fellow Albertan from Edmonton, Lisa Jane, who is doing a year of university abroad and studying in Bamako. Marina, her school and travel mate, is from New York City. Lisa Jane is planning on travelling to Burkina Faso (as are we) and so we hope will run into her again before she heads back to Canada.
The next morning we head for Endé. Endé is well known for it's indigo cloth, so it is much more touristy than the other villages we have visited. It is a lovely village, but we stop for only a short while to see the souvenirs for sale and continue on to Yaba-Talu. It is hot this second day. The clouds are gone and the sun is shining it's scorching face down on us. There is no breeze and we realize that there is no way we could ever acclimatize to this heat. Our little travel thermometer (thanks Liz and Bob!) tells us
it is 44°C in the SHADE! We are basically just blobs of sweat, drinking water that is hot enough to make tea with. We read a great line in a book recently: "... it's not the kind of heat that makes you sweat, it's the kind that cooks your brain." Our brains definitely feel cooked, and we do sweat - more than we ever thought we could. Early that evening we leave the shade to start our trek back up the escarpment to Begnimato (this is just pure torture - who's idea was this trek anyway??? Can you guess who was complaining the whole way up in the heat?)
In Begnimato we find out that Yo and Mama will be leaving us the next morning and Lac (our guide) suggests we head to a nearby village the next morning with the Begnimato campement owner, Michel. Lac will take care of Yo and Mama's departure and then we will meet him back at the camp for lunch and resume our planned trek in the afternoon. This sounds fine to us as the village we are to visit, Indellu, is not touristy at all. Another delightful night under the stars and
no braying donkeys means a great sleep was had by all!
The next morning we say our good-byes to Yo and Mama and head off across the top of the Falaise with Michel. Michel is walking in plastic slip-on sandals that have a hole in the bottom, and I am having a hard time in my Vibram-soled walking shoes. We reach Indellu quickly and spend a great deal of time listening to the detailed greetings between Michel and the villagers. The greeting asks how the person is, how their wife/family is, how their parents are, how the animals are and how the crops are. Each question is answered by the other person with a one word answer and the whole exchange begins to sound like a rythmic song. The greeting is very important in Dogon culture, as it is across all of West Africa. You cannot ask your question, or begin a conversation without first going through the full greeting, otherwise you are considered very rude. Being in Indellu with Michel meant that he had to greet almost every person he met in the village in this way. Lac was right, Indellu is not a touristy village at all
and being with a local afforded us an insight I'm sure we would never have had otherwise. Michel took us into local homes and compounds, where we drank Millet Beer right out of the bubbling clay pot in one woman's kitchen. As we sat in a lovely spot overlooking the escarpment and the plains, enjoying a luke warm Fanta, and a brisk breeze, Michel came to us and asked if we would like to stay for the afternoon and attend a Catholic wedding taking place in the village. We were suitably intrigued by the idea of attending a Catholic wedding in a Dogon village, and after a brief cellphone conversation with Lac, it was agreed we would stay and alter our further trekking plans. It was a fabulous experience that one could never plan on having - it just has to happen. We were told we could take photos of the ceremony (in the end it turns out we were actually the official wedding photographers). There was an incredible amount of singing and music as the bride was brought to the ceremony tent and even more music, singing and dancing after the bride and groom and the maid of honour
and best man were seated. We were given seats of honour for the ceremony, right next to the Pastor and the panel of people to speak during the ceremony. It was an honour and a privledge to attend this wedding. It was a little long, as Catholic ceremonies usually are, and we didn't understand anything as it was all conducted in the local language, but it was a special treat regardless. After the ceremony we were invited to eat at another persons house and for the first time we ate rice and sauce with our hands. This is much more difficult than the Africans make it look. We also sampled Raisin Wine (the raisin is a type of fruit that grows on large trees) and hung out until the dancing started. When the dancing began we once again had prime seats and were asked to take photos. We enjoyed the day immensely and are very thankful for our Dogon wedding experience.
That evening back in Begnimato we met Olivier and Thomas from Quebec who are also travelling to Burkina Faso after the Dogon Country, we hope that we will run into them again on the road.
After our
second night in Begnimato, we walked the 8 km to Dourou in the morning and after lunch our Dogon Country trek officially ended. We were shuttled back to Bandiagara and the Hotel Satimbe where our large packs and a shower awaited us!
Next installment: Bandigara to Burkina Faso - coming soon!
Lots of love,
Laini and Peter
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Pam Roberts and Family
non-member comment
How fantastic!!!
Hey you two!!! Have been crazy busy and finally had a few moments peace to read your blog and join you on your adventure... well virtually join you! It all sounds just fabulous! The photos are brilliant and the commentary....well I think you guys should write a book and then have a show on The Travel Network! Miss you lots, travel safe and we look forward to your next entry! Pam and Family!