USD $86.00
Dogon Songs of Life and Death
A Performance of the Baja Ni Funeral Cycle in Tireli, Mali
Series: - African Sources for African History, Volume: 19
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. Surprisingly, these songs have a historic author, a blind poet/prophet who roamed the area in the 19th 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.
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.
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.
Anthropologists working in West Africa, Institutes and libraries specialising in African Studies, scholars of oral literature, Dogon scholars and students, scholars in African linguistics.