Blogs from Mali, Africa - page 2

For two centuries there were two groups living peacefully in the Dogon country - the Dogon people who were farmers and the Tellem - the meat eaters or pygmy small red people. The land back then was forest and had all the big game animals like the lions. But one day the Dogon people decided to cut trees down to create more land for cultivation. With that, overtime, the lions and other animals left and so too the Tellem. A war happened and the midget sized Tellem lost out and moved on to the forests of Congo and Cameroon or north to Burkina Faso… Who knows? Dogon country is made up in 3 parts – the plateau, the ridge and the plains. Coming from Mopti, Dogon is south about an hours motorbike ride. I organised a ... read more

The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions. The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff of up to 500m high, stretching about 150 km. To the southeast of the cliff, the sandy Séno-Gondo Plains are found, and northwest of the cliff are the Bandiagara Highlands. Historically, Dogon villages were established in the Bandiagara area in consequence of the ... read more

IMAGES OF MALI...FESTIVAL AU DESERT 2011...TIMBUKTU Our encampment is a large circle of tuareg goatskin tents covered in a red dye that brushes off on our clothes and skin...Den & I share with Mike & Ros. I erect my Socceroos flag next to the From Here 2 Timbuktu flag so our Aussie presence is proclaimed...and as it turned out notwithstanding we were 4 among a group of over 20, our encampment was often referred to by others as "the Aussies"...maybe it was our wedding on Day 2 (see next blog)...or maybe it was because we had just lost the Ashes and the Poms among us liked to rub it in...or maybe it was 'cause we had travelled the furthest to be here! Anyway our group was the best of the best...everyone got on well and ... read more

FACES OF MALI...TIMBUKTU Many faces partially obscured by the indigo turbans of the Tuareg..or smiling from them...the nomadic peoples of the southern Sahara Desert...strong faces...showing resolve, endurance and handsome all...Tuaregs arriving by camel to trade...but also Songhai (descendents of the Songhai Empire who once controlled the gold & salt trade) & Bozo (fishermen of the Niger) also wear turbans of many colours to protect from the unrelenting strong sun...Felani (nomadic herders & traders) in their distinctive dome hats... We are now in Timbuktu...that mythical location that does exist...and these people bear witness to that... Timbuktu...overtaken by the Sahara Desert...the city of 333 saints...repository for ancient manuscripts...where 3,000 rifles were burnt in 1996 to mark the end of the Tuareg rebellion in the Place de la Paix "the Flame of Peace"... read more

IMAGES OF MALI...ROCK ON ROCK IN DOGON COUNTRY The top of the falaise was rock, rock and more rock, appeared to be ironstone on sandstone...& we went up and down, by, and along until we rocked into Konsogou-Ley for a cup of tea, and "Welcome, welcome, you are very welcome" from our host as he played his own composition on his dogon guitar...and of course we danced...and hugged as we left...a very special time...and a highlight of the trek. Further rock hopping, climbing, winding, up, down and around...until we arrived at Dourou...a village split in half by a massive crack in the rock...and that is what there was...rock, rock and more rock...1,000 people living there...in a severe landscape... The accomodation was not condusive to pleasant sleeping...all inside, windowless and no free rooves...so we mixed with ... read more