KINSHIP AND MARRIAGE AMONG THE DOGON OF THE FRENCH SUDAN
This article analyses the existing social organization of the Dogon tribes with reference to their mythology and cosmology; the relation between the genealogies of the mythical ancestors and the various aspects of social organization—kinship, marriage, land use, ritual activities—is clearly worked out by and known to the heads of kinship groups and other initiates, from whom the author derived the information and the analysis presented here. An account is given of the Dogon myth of creation which describes the first ordering of the habitable earth, its settlement by the mythical ancestors, the disorder and consequent impurity introduced by the activities of Yourougou (the fox) and the remedial action taken by the Nommo (son of God) who was sacrificed and revived, and through whom the earth was purified and man received the eight cereal grains which were to provide, not only his material nourishment but bis spiritual sustenance and the ingredients of his personality.
From the marriages of the four mythical ancestors sprang the four original lineages, which corresponded to the four elements and the four cardinal points, and among which the rights to cultivable land and its usufruct were distributed according to a determined order. From these four lineages are derived the four main tribes of the Dogon. The marriages of the ancestors and their descendants through five generations are presented in a genealogical table (Fig. 1) which displays all the types of marriage which are contracted by the Dogon today. These are discussed in detail and the author shows how they serve to regulate actual marriages among the Dogon, and how rights in land and the social and ritual functions of individuals and groups are determined with reference to events in the lives of the five generations of mythical ancestors.
An understanding of the Dogon conception of the constituents of the human personality and the links between an individual and his ancestors, is essential to a comprehension of the kinship and marriage systems. The personality of an individual is established in its social context by the giving of special names which are conferred at different stages in the life cycle. These names, which bring into being successively the different elements of the personality (soul, body, life-force and the contents of the clavicles) are determined for each individual by the circumstances of his birth and his place in the genealogy of his family. A fundamental concept concerning the human personality, which is influential in the choice of marriage partners, is that of the eight cereal grains which are thought to be lodged in the clavicles of every human being and are a vital element in his character; they are distributed in one order in males and in another order in females, being inherited through the paternal and maternal lines respectively. In any marriage an appropriate combination of these sets of grains must be sought. Another factor which is found in the myths and is operative in regard to marriages, is the concept of ‘twinness’; the ideal birth is a twin birth, and the ideal marriage is one in which each partner is one of twins, because the chance of the birth of twins to the partners is thereby increased.
The organization of the family and kinship group, the position and functions of the head of the family (ginna baṇa), as well as the distribution and cultivation of land (which is closely
linked with the marriage system), are similarly referred to the mythical ancestors. Originally there was one family group consisting of four brothers and their wives inhabiting one dwelling (ginna). In course of time these groups subdivided into smaller units (tire togu). At the same time, several groups could be united by the practice of the same cult known as Binou (the cult of the slain and risen Nommo). In the fifth generation of ancestors the original Binou had divided into 22, each with its own name, priest, and taboos. Today, a group which venerates the same Binou constitutes a clan; a clan includes a number of ginna and may be territorially dispersed. At the tribal level, the chiefs of the four tribes represent the four original ancestors. The chiefs (Hogon) of two tribes (Dyon and Ono) are the senior men of their tribes; those of Arou and Dommo are elected from among the young men of each territorial division. Each chief is assisted by a council, the number of councillors corresponding to the number of mythical ancestors in the third generation.
A description of the puberty and marriage rituals practised by the Dogon today shows how the various elements of the myth are reproduced in symbolic actions: in sacrifices offered at the family and ancestral shrines of the bride and groom, in gifts made and services rendered by the bridegroom, in the eating of dishes made from the eight cereal grains, in the installation of the wife in her husband's household. Other seasonal rituals express other features of the myth.
