Introduction
The Dogona tribe lives in Bandiagara escarpment, south of the Niger River in Mali. It is approximated to comprise of more than 300,000 individuals (Douny 17). Besides it is regarded as the ancient tribe of Egypt. They are a primitive tribe, metal workers, artisans and onion farmers. As much as the Dogona society has been well distanced from the contact of the outside world, their culture constitutes a kind of spiritual aspects for several important religious traditions from the ancient times (Douny 20). On the other hand, there exists the Dagara tribe of West Africa. The Dagara tribe classified its people into five categories these are the fire, the mineral, water, earth, and nature. The paper seeks to explore the spiritual beliefs of the two tribe of Africa. The paper looks into the god of the Dogona people as well as their beliefs and how they transmit this knowledge from generation to generation. Regarding the Dagara the paper analyzes the five categories that they believe in as stated above.
Dogona Cosmology
The Dogona tribe fled away from the Egypt as a result of the religious prosecution. However, they have maintained and kept practicing the Egyptian culture (Douny 18). The Dogona believed in the sky God whom they referred as the ‘Homa.’ The tribe believes that the Homa visited them inform of an earth axe that stormed the earth while flying in flames. As a result they held the day special by always commemorating this day. In the commemoration of the day they use curved masks which are believed to date several years an approximate of a hundred thousand years ago (Douny 21). Besides, the curved masks are very instrumental in passing their cultural practices from one generation to the next. It is their belief that god gave them knowledge during his visit. That is the fundamental reason as to why they honor this day. However, the most interesting thing in their culture is their belief of where their god came from. The Dogona believes that their God came from a star icon a severe constellation. The modern scientists have proved the existence of the star in which the Dogona believes their god originated. The irony in all of this is the fact that there was no telescope in the ancient days to see the star, and neither is the star visible by a bear eye or ordinary telescope. The greatest quest and debate among the anthropologists is how the Dogona came to know of the star.
Dagara Cosmology
The Dagara people categories the universe into five elements. These elements are represented by colors. The first element is the element of fire. It is represented by the color red. Fire, according to the Dagara, is a very significant feature since it enables them to communicate with their ancestors. It offers the Dagara people the energy to feel passionate. They believe that fire helps them identify what kit is happening in their souls. The second element is water. Water among the Dagara people is a symbol of peace. It is represented by blue or black. Water is always offered to strangers immediately the step into their premise. The Dagara believes that water provides them with the energy to communicate with the water spirits. The third element is the earth. The earth surface is represented by the color yellow. To them, the earth brings grandness. It instills the sense of being home to them. It is an element that signifies support for one another. Each individual is expected to relate with the earth as a way of embedding the earth surface energy through the spiritual work taking place in their bodies. The fourth element is minerals. It is represented by the color white. It comprises of the bones and the stones. The Dagara believes that their story is recorded in the bones and the stones. For anyone to study their culture, stones and bone must be gathered and analyzed. The Dagara people believe that the memory is not in the brain rather it is in the bones and the stones (Tengan 19). The fifth element is the nature represented by color green. The Dagara people believe that nature is all about change and transformation. Nature provides them with the magical place where individuals can undergo change.
Conclusion
The Africa is almost similar, and if studied at a closer look, their origin can be traced to the same origin. The Dogona people believe that their God originated from a star. The same is believed by the Egyptians. The Egyptian god and the god of the Dogona are represented in the same curves with long gaited heads. Africans believe in gods and they honor and respect these gods. Just as the Dogona honor the day that they believe god visited them. They have transmitted the culture from one generation to the next. There have some aspects of modern science in the ancient; however it is yet to be proved. This is informed by the fact that the Dogona were able to identify a star that cannot be seen with a bare eye as the origin of their god. Besides, the Dagara culture and beliefs on nature teache that change begins with an individual. It is relevant to question oneself before asking someone else to change. Maybe you the one who needs to change? The fundamental lesson learned in the Dagara culture is the five universe vibrations elements that they use also to categorize their people.
Works Cited
Douny, Laurence. Living in a Landscape of Scarcity: Materiality and Cosmology in West Africa.
, 2014. Print.
Tengan, Alexis B. Mythical Narratives in Ritual: Dagara Black Bagr. Bruxelles: PIE Lang,
2006. Print.
