Dogon Songs of Life and Death

A Performance of the Baja Ni Funeral Cycle in Tireli, Mali
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-04-71844-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 19, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 231 mm, Gewicht: 467 g

Reihe: African Sources for African History

Though the Dogon are well-described, their culture still holds surprises. One of these is the cycle of songs called baja ni, which is at the heart of their funerary rites. These songs are attributed to a historic author, a blind poet/prophet who roamed the area in the nineteenth century and left a huge heritage of songs and prophecies. This book gives the full text of one performance of this legacy. The lyrics cover a range of topics, from comments on historical events to philosophical musings about life and death, and from remembering the departed to celebrating the joys of being alive.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Beek, W E a van

Ongoiba, Oumarou S

Saye, Atimè D

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Geistliche Musik, Religiöse Musik

Über Autor(innen)

Walter van Beek (PhD 1978), African Studies Centre Leiden, is emeritus professor of Anthropology of Religion. He has performed field research in Cameroon (Kapsiki/Higi) and among the Dogon in Mali. He has published widely on both, including Masquerades in African Society: Gender, Power, and Identity (with Harry M. Leyten), (Currey, Oxford 2023).

Oumar S. Ongoiba is a linguist (PhD 1988) and professor of French for the Toronto District School Board.

Atimè D. Saye is a translator of Dogon, and head of an extended family in Tireli, Mali.