The Mythology of the Dogon People
© Wayne Kreger
One of the more popular groups of people - in the eyes of mythologists, that is - is the Dogon people of Africa. The people number about 225 000 and can be found in Mali. The earliest recorded contact with Western groups is in the 1920's, however clues in the Dogon dialects and history of local communities show there has been a great degree of interaction between the varying people of that region. The Dogon community is now a major point of attraction for tourists, and since contact with outside groups there has been a growing Islamic and Christian presence. However, the mythologies of the Dogon people have been well preserved. They have been interviewed extensively, and from them we learn of the stories of creation, the beings Amma, Nommo and Yurugu, and the role of the pale fox.
Dogon cosmology begins with Amma, who is known as the "only" god, though from further study we find this is not accurate in Dogon culture. Perhaps this nomenclature indicates the special stature of holiness or mystery Amma possesses. Before the present cosmos, Amma made an attempt at creation, but it was impotent - he was only able to salvage the four elements of fire, water, air and earth, which find in our current universe. Amma's second attempt was the creation of the cosmic egg - we know that the egg is a popular symbol for creation, as it hold unlimited potential and is the form from which life springs. This egg is believed to have originated at what we call in the West Sirius B, a star that orbits Sirius (the "Dog Star"). Alternate interpretations of Dogon mythology by outsiders describe Amma as the egg, rather than the creator of the egg. This has profound impact on our understanding of Dogon religion - if Amma is the creator, then the universe is his creation. But if Amma is the egg, the Dogon people could be considered pantheists - believing that the universe is god.
In either case, the understanding of the egg in mythology is the same. Inside the cosmic egg there were two placentas - one with a pair of male twins and one with a pair of female twins. It was planned that in due time the twins would grow to maturity, become born and mate with one another to create divine offspring as the emanations of Amma. However, this plan would not come to fruition. One of the male twins, named Yurugu, was desperate to reproduce and forced with way out of the egg in search of a mate. His search was unsuccessful, but he used pieces of the placenta he had been gestating in to create the earth and proceeded to mate with it. His transgression in this act was two fold: he had arrogantly tried to imitate the act of creation that Amma had done, and he mated with the placenta from which he was born, essentially committing incest. Yurugu was punished by Amma for his mistakes - he was transformed into the Pale Fox, who was no longer capable of speech, but retained the ability to preform divination. The offspring of Yurugu and the placenta were the evil spirits that roamed the earth.
Dogon cosmology begins with Amma, who is known as the "only" god, though from further study we find this is not accurate in Dogon culture. Perhaps this nomenclature indicates the special stature of holiness or mystery Amma possesses. Before the present cosmos, Amma made an attempt at creation, but it was impotent - he was only able to salvage the four elements of fire, water, air and earth, which find in our current universe. Amma's second attempt was the creation of the cosmic egg - we know that the egg is a popular symbol for creation, as it hold unlimited potential and is the form from which life springs. This egg is believed to have originated at what we call in the West Sirius B, a star that orbits Sirius (the "Dog Star"). Alternate interpretations of Dogon mythology by outsiders describe Amma as the egg, rather than the creator of the egg. This has profound impact on our understanding of Dogon religion - if Amma is the creator, then the universe is his creation. But if Amma is the egg, the Dogon people could be considered pantheists - believing that the universe is god.
In either case, the understanding of the egg in mythology is the same. Inside the cosmic egg there were two placentas - one with a pair of male twins and one with a pair of female twins. It was planned that in due time the twins would grow to maturity, become born and mate with one another to create divine offspring as the emanations of Amma. However, this plan would not come to fruition. One of the male twins, named Yurugu, was desperate to reproduce and forced with way out of the egg in search of a mate. His search was unsuccessful, but he used pieces of the placenta he had been gestating in to create the earth and proceeded to mate with it. His transgression in this act was two fold: he had arrogantly tried to imitate the act of creation that Amma had done, and he mated with the placenta from which he was born, essentially committing incest. Yurugu was punished by Amma for his mistakes - he was transformed into the Pale Fox, who was no longer capable of speech, but retained the ability to preform divination. The offspring of Yurugu and the placenta were the evil spirits that roamed the earth.
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