Research Catalog

Title

Conversations with Ogotemmêli : an introduction to Dogon religious ideas / by Marcel Griaule ; with an introduction by Germaine Dieterlen.

Author

Griaule, Marcel, 1898-1956.

Publication

London ; New York : Published for the International African Institute by the Oxford University Press, 1970.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Ogotemmêli
• Dieterlen, Germaine
• Oxford University Press publisher.
• International African Institute

Description

xvii, 230 p., 4 p. of plates : ill., map, port.; 21 cm.

Summary

"Originally published in 1948 as Dieu d'Eau, this near-classic offers a unique and first-hand account of the myth, religion, and philosophy of the Dogon, a Sudanese people. Often regarded as savages, the Dogon are here revealed to "live by a cosmogony, a metaphysic, and a religion which put[s] them on a par with the peoples of antiquity, and which Christian theology might indeed study with profit." In recording his thirty-three days' conversation with Ogotemmêli, an elder of exceptional intelligence and wisdom, the author has succeeded in conveying the man's highly individual style. The result is a remarkable portrayal of Dogon cosmology, told as it were from the inside."

Series Statement

Galaxy book ; GB 446

Uniform Title

Dieu d'eau. English

Alternative Title

Dieu d'eau.

Subject

• Dogon (African people) > Religion
• Dogon (African people)
• Nommo (African deity)
• Mali > Religion

Note

• Translation of: Dieu d'eau.
• Includes index.

Bibliography (note)

• Bibliography: p. 224-226.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Foreword / Daryll Forde -- Introduction / Germaine Dieterlen -- Preface -- The Ogols -- First Day. Ogotemmêli -- Second Day. The First Word and the Fibre Skirt -- Third Day. The Second Word and Weaving -- Fourth Day. The Third Word and the Granary of Pure Earth -- Fifth Day. The Third Word and the Classification of Things -- Sixth Day. The Third Word, the Descent of the Granary of Pure Earth, and Death -- Seventh Day. The Third Word and the Regurgitation of the World-System -- Eighh Day. The Third Word and the Work of Redemption -- Ninth Day. The Third Word and the Drums -- Tenth Day. The Word and the Craft of Weaving -- Eleventh Day. The Word and the Cultivation of the Land -- Twelfth Day. The Word, Dress, and Love -- Thirteenth Day. The Smithy, Pottery -- Fourteenth Day. The Large Family House -- Fifteenth Day. The Sanctuary -- Sixteenth Day. Paintings on the Façade of the Sanctuary -- Seventeenth Day. Paintings on the Façade of the Sanctuary (continued) -- Eighteenth Day. The Cult of Lébé -- Nineteenth Day. The Cult of the Binu -- Twentieth Day. Sacrifice -- Twenty-first Day. The Fertilizing Word -- Twenty-second Day. The Blood of Women -- Twenty-third Day -- The Blood of Women and the Threshing of Digitaria -- Twenty-fourth Day. The Dual Soul and Circumcision -- Twenty-fifth Day. Personal Altars -- Twenty-sixth Day. Appearance of Death -- Twenty-seventh Day. The Cult of the Dead, Fermented Liquors, The Living Dead -- Twenty-eighth Day. Dancing -- Twenty-ninth Day. The Cult of Fire -- Thirtieth Day. Twins and Trade -- Thirty-first Day. Twins and Trade (continued) -- Thirty-second Day. The Signs of the Zodiac -- Thirty-third Day. Farewell to Ogotemmêli -- Select Bibliography -- Index.

ISBN

0195198212

OCLC

• 3512369
• SCSB-10168217

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library