Sign for Daga Tereli off the main road along the Bandiagara Plateau |
Pond formed by damming a stream, Daga |
Baobabs and fields near Daga-Tereli |
Kids running excitedly from the village as we arrive in our big red truck |
After Songho, we were hoping for a quiet campsite... |
Daga-Tereli |
Daga-Tireli is a Dogon village on the rim of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
Stone hut with what looks like millet stalks for a roof, Daga |
Dogon plateau village of Daga-Tereli |
Daga-Tereli |
Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
Daga-Tireli, Dogon Country |
The moon is already high in the sky |
The first shadows of evening cross the Dogon village of Daga-Tireli |
Sunset, Dogon Country, Mali |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Sunset, Dogon Country |
Red rocks around the village of Daga |
Last light |
Last light |
The end of the day |
Early morning, Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
Early morning, Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
The morning sun illuminates the stone houses in Daga |
The pond at Daga-Tereli |
Daga-Tereli |
The village women are up early doing their many chores |
Fields and pond, Daga |
Onion fields, Daga-Tireli |
The Two Baobabs near Daga |
Back at the camp for breakfast |
Villagers gather early hoping to be chosen as "porters" for our day hike to Tireli at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
"Jesus seul est mon sauveur" |
The top of the Bandiagara Escarpment, part of the Dogon Plateau |
Dogon Country, Mali |
The Two Baobabs make great landmarks for hiking around Daga |
The Two Baobabs, Daga |
Our expedition departs for the one hour hike to the Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the escarpment |
The Two Baobabs |
One of the Two Baobabs |
Lizard |
Baobab |
Baobab, Dogon Plateau |
Dogon Country |
Pause for a nature talk at the Two Baobabs |
Dogon Plateau |
A seemingly bottomless cleft in the escarpment, which we had to cross |
Dogon Country |
The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
Sandy terrain at the base of the escarpment near Tereli |
The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
Dogon Plateau |
The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country, Mali |
Udo taking a photo from the top of the Dogon escarpment |
The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
Günter pointing out features to the group |
Sand dune at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
Tino on the hike in Dogon Country |
Another cleft in the cliff |
Baobab on the top of the Dogon Plateau, Mali |
Pays Dogon, Mali |
Dogon Country, Mali |
That is one of the most frightening bridges I have ever seen... |
Trekking down the Dogon Escarpment from Daga to Tereli |
Our massive expedition follows |
The edge of the Dogon Plateau |
The edge of the Dogon Plateau, the Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali |
The first sight of the large Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the cliff |
That's the square where the Dogon Mask Dance we've come to see will take place |
The Dogon Village of Tereli seen from the cliffside |
Tereli, Dogon Country |
Bandiagara Escarpment |
Tereli, Dogon Country |
The granaries are the most distinctive feature of Dogon villages |
Tireli, Dogonland |
The Tellem were the cliff dwelling people who predated the Dogon by many centuries |
Bandiagara Escarpments |
Cliff dwellings of the Tellem high above Tireli predate the Dogon by centuries before the Dogon |
Tereli |
Tereli |
Dogon women with baskets on the trail |
Ever wonder what the women carry in their baskets? |
Dogon Country |
Hiking from Daga to Tireli |
Dogon Country |
Red rock cliffs of the Bandiagara Escarpment above Tereli, Mali |
Granaries of the Dogon village of Tireli |
Granary in Tireli |
A sure sign that this is not a Muslim village |
The cliff dwellings of the Tellem are used as tombs by the Dogon |
Dogon village of Tereli, Mali |
Hotel-Bar La Grande Place de Togu-na Chez Boureima a Tereli-Dama |
Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
Dogon-style granaries in Tireli |
Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
"Toguna", the social center of the village for Dogon men |
Toguna, where the Dogon men hang out |
Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
Tereli, Dogon Country |
Tereli, Dogon Country |
Visite Chez Le Hogon |
Painting on a building in Tereli inviting tourists to visit the Hogon, the village spiritual leader |
Crocodile shaped water spout out of a stone building in Tereli |
Crocodile shaped water spouts out of a stone building in Tereli |
Baobab with the cliffs above Tireli |
The mudbrick mosque in Tereli |
Mosque of Tireli |
Mosque of Tireli |
Just about every Dogon village has a mosque although the Dogon tend to not be Muslim |
Dogon women carrying baskets of millet, the staple crop of West Africa |
Millet, the staple food crop of West Africa |
The only motor vehicle we saw in the Dogon villages we visited |
Our first stop, the main hotel-restaurant of the Dogon village of Tereli |
Ornate carved door on the hotel/restaurant in Tireli |
Detail of the carved door at the hotel/restaurant, Tireli |
Ornately carved Dogon door, Mali |
Detail of a carved door in the shape of a crocodile |
Tereli |
Günter briefing the group on the Dogon dance that we are about to see |
View from the ceremonial ground |
Dogon drum, Mali |
Dogon drummers |
Tereli puts on a short dance for tourists based on the Dogon Dama ceremony |
Dogon chorus, Tereli |
Dogon Kanaga Mask |
Dogon Kanaga Mask |
Dogon mask dancers, Tereli, Mali |
Dogon mask dancers, Tereli, Mali |
Dogon Kanaga Mask |
Kanaga masks drive out the spirits of the dead |
Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
Dogon animal mask dancer - oryx |
Dogon animal mask dancer |
Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
Dogon Satimbe mask |
Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
Dogon animal mask dancer |
Dogon animal mask dancer |
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Sirige mask dancers, Dogon Country |
The impressive dancers on stilts |
The stilt dance looks lie a water bird... |
...but the costume is said to imitate Fulani women |
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Dogon drummers |
Dogon stilt dancers resting |
Dogon Kanaga Masks lead to clear away the spirits |
Dogon Kanaga Mask, Tereli |
Dogon mask dancer with the older village men who perform the chorus |
Dogon stilt dancers awaiting their entry |
Dogon animal mask dancer - antelope |
Dogon animal mask dancers, hyena |
After the entry, each mask type dances individually |
Dogon animal mask - rabbit |
Mask dancer with singers |
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Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
Dogon mask dancers, Tereli |
Dogon masks dancing together, Tereli |
Dogon Sirigie mask dancer |
Dogon animal mask dancers - antelope |
Dogon Satimbe mask |
The figure on top of the Dogon Satimbe mask |
Dogon mask dance, Tereli |
Dogon stilt dancers - waterbird or Fulani women |
Cowrie shells on the back of a stilt dancer's costume |
Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
Dogon mask dancer after the performance |
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Sirige Mask representing the link between the mortal and the spirit worlds |
Dogon dancers resting after the performance |
The stilt dancer's costume with baobab fruit breasts |
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Dogon animal masks - hyenas |
Dogon animal mask - antilope |
Dogon animal mask - Rabbit |
Dogon mask dancers of Tereli resting after the performance |
Dogon animal mask - Hyena |
The older men who no longer dance now sing |
The tribal elder of Tereli thanks us for coming |
Dogon chorus |
Bandiagara Escarpment rising above the Dogon village of Tereli |
Baobab, Tereli |
Dogon pottery, Terely |
Tereli, Dogonland |
Stickers of various tour operators who have passed this way |
Sandy plains at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali |
Sand dunes outside the Dogon village of Tereli |
Dogon woodcarving for sale at the hotel |
Dogon mask for sale, Tereli |
Dogon statues, Tereli |
Dogon woodwork, Tereli |
Dogon granary, Tereli |
Gartenzwerg |
Granaries, Tereli |
Granaries, Tereli |
Granary without the thatched hat |
Rasta-Dogon Amagounon Cayl, 6th Class |
Another teenage Dogon boy, Abel Saye, from Tereli |
Young boy, Tereli |
Abel Saye, Tereli |
Amagounon and Abel Saye |
Amagounon and Abel Saye up a tree in Tireli |
Hiking back up to Daga |
The primary guide for our Trek |
I gave the guide a beer, which he gave to his son |
Hubertus and half a dozen kids returning to base camp |
Josef in a good mood with the Daga-Tereli kids |