M Griaule & G Dieterlen - A Sudanese Sirius System

7/28/2019 M Griaule & G Dieterlen - A Sudanese Sirius System

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byM. G R I A U L E a n d G . D I E T E RL E N

Note: The following article is translated and published in i t s entirely.It is written for professional anthropologists and ethnographers, and is prc-sented here for the reader who is sufficiently interested in the sul~ject o wishto pursue the source material. It is, therefore, supplementary information,and is not essential for the reader who merely wishes to follow the argument.

FOREWORDThe indigenous knowledge about the Sirius system which is set forth in tl ~is hapt rr hasbeen gathered from four Sudanese peoples: the Dogon in Bandiagara, t!~rDalnbnra an

The main investigation was carried out among the Dogon between 1946 a ~ l d 950,


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hypothesis or research. The y have bee n simply pieced togeth er it1 such a May tha t theaccounts of the four pr inc ipa l informants a re merged in to one an d the sam r s ta tement .T h e p r o b l e m o f k n o w i n g h o w , w i t h n o i n s t r u m e n ts a t t h e i r d i sp o s al , m e n c o u l d k n o w t h emovements and certain characteristics of vir tually invisible stars has not been settled,nor even posed. I t has seemed more to t he point , un der these spec ia l c i r cumstances , topresent the docum ents in the raw.

THE CALCULATION OF THE TIME OF THE SIGUIEvery s ix ty yea rsQhe Dogon hold a ce remony ca l led the S igui ( ce remony) . I t s purposeis the renova t ion of the wor ld , and i t has been desc r ibed a t length by them in 19 31 .~Since the beginning of th is inves t iga t ion , we were faced wi th thc quest ion ofd e tc r~n ini ngt h e m e t h o d u sc d t o ca l c u la t e t h e p e r i o d s e p a r a t i n g t w o Si g u i c c r c ~ ~ l o ~ ~ i r s .l ' l ~ r o m m o nnot ion, which da tes back to the ~ n y t h f c rea t ion , is tha t a faul t in the l ' ougo rock,s i tu a te d a t t h e c e n t r e o f t h e v i ll ag e of Y o ug o D ~ g o r o u , ~ights up wi th a r cd g low in theyear preceding the ce remony. This f aul t conta ins va r ious a l ta r s , in pa r t icula r busts ofA n d o u m b o u l o u ( t l ie na rne g iven to the people of smal l s ta ture wl ~ o o r ~ n c r l ~ived il l t l~ crocks) , an d a rock pa int i ng ca l led omnm bnra, 'god helps' , to which we shall I-efcr ater .Fur the rmore , and be fore th is r ed g low appears , a spot s i tua ted outs ide the v i l lagebecomes covered wi th e longa ted gourds of a type which no on e would have so\vn.FYhen these s igns a re obse rved, an apparent ly s imple procedure of ca lcula t ion isca r r ied out , so le ly by the people ofYo ugo Dogorou who be long to the .4rou t r ibe :6 ' hecouncil of elders assesses the interval by means of thir ty two-yearly drinking-bouts whenbeer mad e f rom mil le t is drun k; an d the e ldest e lde r marks up each bout wi th a cowr ieshell.These bouts a re he ld about one month be fore the f i r s t r a ins , somet in l r s in May orJune , in a tent o r she l te r p i tched to the nor t h of the v il lage centre . ' I ;u t th is ru le is onlyt h e o r et i c a l: b e t w e e n t h e l as t S i g u i, c e l e b ra t e d a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e c e n tu r y , a n d 1 9 3 1 ~there has been only one bout , ha l fway through the pe r iod; but the two-year ly cowr ieswere se t dow n an d ga the re d in to a p i le r epresent ing the f ir s t th i r ty yea r s . F rom 1931onwards , the dr inking b outs took place every two yea rs . Whe n the second pi le consist ingof f if teen cowries has been collected, the second Sigui of the twentieth ceutury will bec e l c b r a t ~ d . ~

, . According to Manda , the pr ie s t , the ca lcula t ion of the S igui i s r ccordcd above thed o o r o f t h e s a n c t u a r y of B in o u b y t w o f ig u re s m a d e o f m i l l c t p u l p r e p r e s r ~ ~ t i n ghe godAm ma a nd his son, Nommo , Ins t ruc tor of the new world .1 I 'hc I i r st cot~s is ts f a ve r t ica lova l - he egg of the wor ld - and i ts ma jor axis , Am ma in th e or ig ina l da rkness . In th er ight-han d ha lf, each yea r i s marked with a dot , s ta r t ing f rom the bot tom. FYhen th eseventh yea r comes round, a k ind of t r ident i s drawn on the outs ide , a s an extension to thel ine ofd ot s . Th e sa rne th ing is done o n the le f t -hand s ide, in the orde r top- to-bot tom.Four teen yea rs a re counted in th is way: the seven twin yea rs dur ing which the wor ldwas c rea ted , an d to which a uni t , symbol izing the whole , is added." I l iag ram~ na t ic a l lys p e a k in g , t h e f ig u re s h o w s t h e po d ' s l a st ge s t ur e , r ai si n. o n e h a n d a ~ ~ do\vrr-ing the ot her,the reby showing tha t sky and cart11 are made.Thi s draw ing is repra ted four times, maki ng it possible to reckon a pr1 iod of sixtyy e a rs ; i t i s a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e f i g ur e o f t h e I n ~ t r u c t o r , ~ ~omposcd of two vertical legssuppo r t ing a head a top a long neck. Dur in g the f i rs t th i r ty yea r s which a rc r rcord ed bytwo ova ls , the f igure fca tures only the r ight leg. Dur i ng the second th i r ty -y ~a r e r iod , thele ft leg is mad e a l i t t le longer each yea r in such a w ay tha t when the S igui actua l ly occursi t is the same leng th as the r ight leg . I t i s by a l lus ion to th is f igure tha t people ta lk ab outthe S igui ' ge t t ing to i t s fee t ' dur in g th is la t te r pe r iod.

THE CALCULATION OF THE SIGUI CEREMOWIESW h e n i t i s t i m e f or t h e S i g u i , t h e e l d e rs g a t h e r e d i n t h e tana tono she l te r a t You30 t l rnw asymbol on the rock wi th red ochre ( f ig . i ) , which represents a kanaga mask;" t t l i 4 , :nturn , r epresents the god Am ma ; a hole is rnade in the groun d be low i t sym1)ol iz inq th rS i g ui , a n d t h u s A m m a i n t h e e g g of t h e w o r l d . I n e f fe ct t h e s e t w o si g ns s h o u l i b e ' ~ ( a r l 'i n t h e o p p o s i t e o r d e r : A m m a , i n t h e s h a d o w o f t h e e g g ( t h e h o le ) r e v ra l s h i n is e lf t o m r i l( the red des ign) in h is c rea t ive posture ( the mask depic ts th e god ' s f inal pe - tur r , S ~ O M ~ I I I 'the universe.)"

Figure i. T h e Kanaga s i g n, c o n n o t i n g t h e s i x ty - y ea r c er e m on i e s, a t Y o u p 1 ) o go r o u( indigenous pa int ing)

Th e hole is a lso in te rpre ted as the hole which m ust b e du g to p ut seeds in . F ro111 th isviewpoint the holes a re a r ranged in se r ie s of three , connot ing three S iguis , p lac rdrespectively be neat h th e sign of three seeds, after whic h the y ar e nalncd. ' l 'hr~ s ile Si?:rria t the beginning of th is century was ca l led emtne sigi, the ' sorghum S igui ' ; the t lcxt oncwill be calledytc sigi, the 'm i l le t S igui ' ; a nd th e one a f te r nu sigi, the 'ha r icot S igui ' .In theory , then, i t would seem poss ib le to r ecord the S iguis us ing th is s imple ~r lc tho d.I n prac t ice , the holes become obl i te ra ted an d th e pa ip t ing , mo reof ten th an no t , i s to1 .1c l1rdup ins tead of be ing reproduced an d thus forming pa r t of a countable sc : . i r~ . ?11t !~crr sa n o t h e r f i g u re p a i n t e d o n t h e f a ~ a d e f t h e s a n c tu a r i e s w h i c h r e v ea l s r a r l ~ c rmo:.cspecific data; it is called sigi lu,gu, 'calculation of the Sigui' , and consists or a line nfv e rt i ca l c h e v ro n s , t h e n o t c he s o f w h i ch a r e p a i n t e d a l t e r n a t e l y b l a c k , r cd . r ~ r ~ d!>icv;each colour cor responds to a seed, the f i rs t to mil le t, th e second to the ha r icot a r ~ dli eth i rd to sorghu m ( f ig . i i ) . This l ine can be read in two way s: F i th e r by i~ s in g est orrecount in g sys tem ( for example the le f t -hand one) , whereby each no tch is the cc lu ivalcntof twenty yea rs ; he re , the no tch up on which a S igui ac tua l ly fa lls is carried over to t11cfol lowing ser ie s : or , by taking the whole f igure and cou nt ing tw enty yea rs for each nn:ch ,regardless of i t s pos i t ioning ( th e r ight column in f ig . i i ) ; he re , the notc l ; upo n whic ll aSigui falls is recounted.Mor e consis tent evidence of the ce lebra t ion of the S igui i s pro\~ i : lcd by thr l ;+ ~q r


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wooden mask, whose carving is one of the major concrete purposes of the ceremony. Thismask - usually of considerable size1$- is seldom rised, and is kept in some shclter orhideaway in the rocks, along with those which have been carved at previous ceremonies.The care with which these masks are treated - for in some ways tlley arc the villagearchives - means that it is not uncommon to come across series of three or four of them,the oldest of which date back, respectively, to I 780 an d I 720,''' giveo r take a yea ror two.In exceptional cases, when the shelter has been well selected and undcr constant surveil-lance, the series may be longer still; thus at Ibi, in 1931, nine poles were countcd, and

mu re ii. The calc~ilationof the Sigui

these must have succeeded three more which had been reduced to a few fragments andpiles of dust an d were still visible; as were the special places earmarke d for t hem a t theback of the shelter, all perfectly protected from the damp, vermin and animals. 'Theoldest in the series of nine, which showed a continuous progression of agcing in the corlrseof time," thus dat e from the beginning of the fifteenth cent ury; an d if the three othersare taken into acco unt, the remn ants of the earliest would date back to the first half of tht:thirteenth century."

It is not easy to come across material evidence dating back f urther tl ~ar ihe traces ofthese poles at Ibi. Brlt the re is another object, existing in asingle edition, which is fasliio~irildur ing these Sigui ceremonies and which might also, be a significant rni:cstone in thecalculation process. With the festival in mind, each regional Hogon, as well as tt~ esupreme Hogon of Arou, has a fermentation stand woven out of baobab fibr-es; tl~isstand is used during the preparation of the first ritual beer. This beer is clistribrrterl i r ismall quantit ies to each family; it is then adde d to everybody's cu p, an d thus erlsrrl-c: thehomogeneousness of the beer dru nk by the community. I n addition to this, all the otl~ erfermentation stands are associated, by contact, with the principal one, which is excrption-ally large: the lid measures 40 cm. (16 n.) in d iameter, an d the four 'pon~po rns' .e thcsize of the normal object. As a result, it c an only enter the large jars.

These objects are kept in the Hogon's house where they are hung from the maillbeam, and thus form a permanent sequence. Ongnonlou saw six or seven oC them ill theofficial residence of the Hogon of Sanga; the latter, one of the oldest n:en in Uogorlcountry, has it that his grear-great-grandfather had seen eight others which precedcdthe oldest in the present series.lS Assuming a total of fourteen objects for r!~e Sar~gachieftainry, the first - which almost certainly does not deno te the first ceretnorly held inthis region -would have been woven in the twelfth centur y, if one reckons on thr prjriodseparating two Siguis being sixty years.

Again, Ongnonlou counted a series of eight in the house of the supreme Iiogcrn of thtcArou, at Arou-by-Ibi. But he adds that the number 'should' be twenty-f u~lr,~ althoughhe cann ot explain if there is an ideal series which a compl ete sequence wcuid ainl f cr, 01.which, conversely, would correspond to reality if the fibres had not turned to dust..z0

Th e methods described above for both keeping track of the ceremo~lics ncl f o ~nl-culating the intervals between Siguis are simple an d tend to be mnemoteclinic. For theinitiate they simply act as understudies for other more complex practices and knowledgeto do with the Sirius system. The Dogon names for this sta r - sigi tolo, star of the S i g ~ i ; ~ 'oryasigi tolo, sta r of Yasiguiz" sufficiently indic ate its rela tion with th e ceremon y of therenovation of the world which takes place every sixtY years.Sirius, however, is not the basis of the system: it is one of the foci of the orbit of a tinystar called Digitaria, /JO t 0 l 0 , ~ ~r star of the Yourougou,24yurugu tolo, which plays acrucial role, and which, unaided as it were, hogs the atlention of male initiates.

This system is so impor tant t hat, unlike the systems:of.other parts of the sky, it hasnot been assigned to any particula r group. I n effect the On o and Donuno tribes governthe stars, the former including Venus rising among its attributes, the latter Orion's belt.Th e sun should be assigned to the most powerful tribe, the Arou; but so as not to be guiltyof excess, the Arou handed the sun over to the Dyon, who are less noble, and hung onto the moon. As far as the star Digitaria a nd the system to which it belongs ar e concerned,these are common to all men.

THE ORBIT OF DIGITARIAThe orbit described by Digitaria around Sirius is perpendicular to the horizorl, and thisposition is alluded to in one of the most common ceremonies in which masks piay a par t:


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laba oilr ppozugo I f ya(the path of the mask (is) straight (vertical)

this path runs straight)But if one takes the pun into account - familiar to the initiated - betwecn

'straight' an d pd : Digitaria, the translation becomes:the path of the mask (is the star) Digitariathe path runs (like) Digitaria.

A figure made out of millet pulp (fig. iii) in the room wit h the dais in the house ofthe Hogon of Arou gives an ide a of this trajectory, which is drawn horizont ally: the oval(lengthwise diameter ab out loo cm. = 40 in.) contains to the left a small circle, Sirius (S) ,above which another circle (DP) with its centre shows Digitaria in its closcst position.At the other e nd of the oval a small cluster of dots (DL) represent the star when it isfarthest from Sirius. When Digitaria is close to Sirius, the latter becomcs brighter; whenit is at its most distant from S irius, Digitaria gives off a twinkling efk rt , si~ggestingseveral stars to the obser~er.~'

Figure iii. The trajectory of the star Digitaria around SiriusThis trajectory symbolizes excision a nd circumcision, an operation which is repres-

ented by the closest and furthest passage of Digitaria to Sirius. The left part of the ovalis the foreskin (or clitoris), the right part is the knife (fig. iv).

Thi s symbolism is also expressed by a figure used for othe r pe rforman ces2' (f ig. v) .A horizontal figure rests on a vertical axis which connects two circles: S (Sirius) and D(Digitaria); the centre of the figure is a circle T, which represents the trajectory of D.The line E is the penis, th e hook E' the foreskin. Two horns hinge 011 the circle an d repro-duc e once again the two parts of the trajectory (cf. fig. iv) : A, the knifr ; U, the foreskin.Thus the Sirius system is associated with the practices of renovating people, and,consequently - in accordance with the Black mentality - wit11 the cerem onies whichcelebrate the renovation of the world.

~ i i u r eu. Th e symbolism of the trajectory of Digitaria. S: Sirius, A : knifr, 11: furcskin

Figure u. Th e symbolism of Digitaria. S : Sirius , D : ~ i ~ i t a r i a ,: trajectory of IXgi taria,A: knife, E : penis, B an d B': foreskin

Th e period of the orbit is counted double , that is, one hundred years,28 becausc theSiguis ar e convened in pairs of 'twins', so as to insist on the basic princip le of twin-ness.29I t is for this reason that t he trajectory is called munu, from the root monyc 'to rel~nite'?romwhich the word muno is derived, which is the title given to the dignitary who has ccle-brated (reunited) two Siguis.

According to Dogon mythology, before the discovery of Digitaria the supreme chicfwas sacrificed a t the end of the seventh year of his reign (the seventh harves t). This wasthe only computation known abou t; the year-unit had not then been e~tabl ishe d.Th espiritual and m aterial principles of the victim were conveyed t o Digitaria - o regmeratethe victim -whose existence was known but whose features had no t been revealed to man,because the star was invisible.

This was the r ule for forty-nine years for the first seven chiefs who thus riol~r ished hc


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star, and en abled it to rcnovate the world periodically. But, having discovered the star,the eighth chief resolved to avoid the fate of his predecessors: with his son's complicity,he feigned death, lay dor mant for a few months and reappeared before the chief who hadsucceeded him; he announced t hat he h ad been to Digitari a, knew its sccrets, and that,from then onwards, every Hogon would reign for sixty years - the pcriod which wouldlater separate one Sigui from the next.30 Restored to ofice, h e raised the level oft he skywhich, hitherto, ha d been so close to the earth that it could be touched,31 and he com-pletely revised the method of calculating time, and the method of reckoning.

Until that time the ceremonies celebrating the renovation of the world had in facttaken place every seventh harv est;3 z the Hogon made his calculatio ns on the basis offive-day periods, a unit which established the week as i t still is today, an d five harvestcycles. And as he was eighth in line, he counted eight cycles, in othrr wol.tls forty years,and the number forty became the basis for computation: the month had forty days, theyear for ty weeks (of five days each). But the Hogon lived sixty years, a num l~c r hich wasinterpreted as t he sum of forty (basis of calculation) a nd twenty (the twenty fingers andtoes, symbolizing the person and thus, in t he highest sense of the word, the ch icf). Thu ssixty became the basis for calculations33 an d it was first applied to rstablish ihe period oftime separating two Siguis. Although the orbit of Digitaria takes approximately fiftyyears and although it corresponds to the first seven reigns of seven years respectively, itnone the less computes the sixty years which separate two ce re mo n ie ~ .~ ~

As well as its movement in sp ace. Digitaria also revolves (rotates) upon itsrlf over theperiod of one year an d this revolution is hono ured du ring the celebration of the bndo rite.O n this occasion it ejects from its three spirals the beings an d the things which it co ntains.This da y is called badyu, 'surly father ', because it is marke d by a gener al Inovclnent ofthe world which upsets people an d places them in an unsu re relatiorlship with themselvesand with each other.

THE OR IGIN S A N D FEA TU R ES OF D IGITA R IAThe eig hth Hogon instructed his people in the featuresof the star, an d,more generally,ofthe Sirius system.

Sirius appea rs red to the eye, Digitaria white. Th e latter lics at the orir:in of things.'God create d Digitaria before an y other star'.36 It is the 'egg of the world ', ndrrno tnl, theinfinitely tiny and, as it developed, it gave birth to everything that exists, visible orinvisib1e.a' It is mad e up of three of the four basic elements: air , lire anti water. Theelement earth is replaced by metal.3' To start with, it was just a seed of Uigitarin ex il i. ~, ~~pd, called euphemistically kize uzi, 'the little thing ',38 consisting of a centra l nucleuswhich ejected ever larger seeds or shoots in a conical spiral motion (fig. vi). The firstseven seeds or shoots are represented graphically by seven lincs, increasing in length,within th e sac formed in turn by an oval symbolizing the egg of the world.The entire work of Digitaria is summarized in a drawing whose various parts arecarried out in the following order:4" a vertical line issues from the oval - he first shoot toemerge from the sac; another segment, the second shoot, takcs up a crosswise position,and thus supplies the four cardinal points: the stage of the world. Thc straightness ofthese two segments symbolizes the continuity of things, their perseverance in one state.Last, a third shoot, taking the place of the first, gives it the form of an oval which is openin its lower section, and surrounds the base of the vertical segment. The curved form, asopposed to the straig ht, suggests the transformatio n an d progress of things. Thr: personagethus obtained, called the 'life of the world', is the created being, the agent, ihe microcosmsummarizing the universe.

In its capacity as the heavy embryo of a world issued each year, Digitaria is repres-

! Figure vi . Th e origin of the spiral of creation (indigenous drawing: actual size)ented in Wazou ba either by a dot or by a sac enveloping a concentric circlc of ten dots(the eight ancestral Nommos and the initial couple of Nommo). Its contir~tralmovcnlcntproduces beings whose souls emerge at intervals from the dots an d are guided towards thestar Sorghum4' which sends them on to Nommo. This movement is copied by iherhombus which disperses the creation of the Yourougou in space. Six figurt:~1 e arrarlgetlaround the circle, as if ejected from it (fig. vii) 42

a two-pronged fork: trees;a stem with four diagonal lines: small millet;four dots arranged as a trapezium: cow with its head mark ed by a sh o ~l i ~ ~ c ; ~ "four diverging lincs starting from the base of a b ent stem : domestic animals;four dots and a line: wild animals;an axis flanked by four dots: plants and their foliage.14The original work is likewise symbolized by a filter-basket made of siraw called nrtnI goro, 'bean cap'. This utensil consists of a sheath in the form of a continuous helic~~lspiral, the centre of which starts at the bottom.46 Th e spiral supports a nrtwor k ofI double radii ad6 lle spiral and the helix are the initial vortical motion of the woricl; theradii represent the inner vibration of things.1 Originally, then, Digitaria is a materialized, p roductive motion. Its first pro duct was

an extremely heavy substance which was deposited outside the cagr of nloiremcntrepresented by the filter-basket." Th e mass thus formed brou ght to mind a mort ar twiceas big as the ordinary utensil used by women.48According to the version told to th r men,this mortar has three compartments: the first contains the aquatic beingi, the second,terrestrial beings, an d the third , the creatures of the air. I n reality the st ar is conceivedof as a thick oval forming a backcloth from which issues a spiral with three :vhorls (thethree compartments).

According to the version instructed to the women, the compartm ents ar e four innumber an d contain grain, metal, vegetables and water. Each co mpari~n ent s in turnmade u p of twenty compartments; the whole contains the eighty fundamen ial elemenis.

Th e star is the reservoir and the source of everything: ' It is the granary for cveryihingi n th e w ~ r l d . " ~he contents of the star-receptacle are ejected by centrifugal force, inthe form of infinitesimals comparable to the seeds of Digitaria exilis which underso rapiddevelopment: 'The thing which goes (which) emerges outside (the star) becomrs as


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Figure uii. The star Digitaria (indigenous drawing: actual sizcS0)large as it every day. '&' In o ther words, what issues from the star illcreases each day by avolume equal to itself.

Because of this role, the sta r which is considered to be the sr:lallest tliing in the skyis also the heaviest: 'Dig itaria is the smallest thing there is. It is the heaviest star.'" Itconsists of a metal called ~ a g a l a , ~ ~hich is a little brighter than iron and so heavy 'thatall earthly beings combined cann ot lift it'. I n effect the star weighs the equivalent of 480donkey-loadsb4 (about 38,000 kg. = 85,000 lb. ), the equivalent of all seeds, or of all theiron on earth,5s although, in theory, it is the size of a stretched ox-skin or a mortar.

THE POSITION OF DIGITARIAThe orbit of Digitaria is situated at the centre of the world, 'Digitaria is the axis of thewhole world,'s6 and without its movement no other star could hold its course. Thismeans th at i t is the master of ceremonies of the celestial positions; in parti cular it governsthe position of Sirius, the most unruly star; it separates it from the other stars by encom-passing it with its trajectory.

OTHER STARS IN THE SIRIUS SYSTEMBut Digitaria is not Sirius's only comp anion: the star emmeya, Sorghum-Female, is largerthan it, four times as light (in weigh t), and travels along a greater trajectory in the samedirection and in the same time as it (fifty years). Their respective positions are such thatthe angle of the radii is at ri ght angles. Th e positions of this star d etermin e variousrites at Yougo Dogorou. Sorghum-Female is the seat of the female souls of all living orfutur e beings." I t is euphemism t hat describes them as being in the waters of fanlilypools: the star throws out two airs of radii (beams) (a female figure) which, on reacliingthe surface of the waters, catch the souls.

I t is the only star which emits these beams which have the quality of solar raysbecause it is the 'sun ofwomen', nydn nay, 'a little sun', nay dagi . In fact it is accotnpaniedby a satellite which is called the 'sta r of Women', nydn tolo, or Goatherd, enrgirin (literally:goat-guide), a term which is a pun on cmmc girin (literally: sorghum-guidej, I.iorninallythen it would be more important as the guide of Sorghum-Female. Furtherniore, thereis some confusion with the major star, the Go atherd, which is familiar to everyone.

Th e star of women is represented by a cross,b8 a dy nam ic sign which ca!ls to mint1the movement of the whole Sirius system (fig. viii).

Sorghum-Female is outlined by three points, a male symbol of autllority, si ui o+ ~n tl ~by seven dots, or four (female) plus three (mal e) which a re the female soul and t he rnalr:soul (fig. ix).

Taken as a whole, the Sorghum-Female system is represented by a circlr conta ininga cross (the four cardinal directions), whose centre consists of a round apr~ t the staritself) an d whose a r m serve as a receptacle for the male an d female souls of all bcings.This figure, called the 'Sorghum -Female pattern ', cmmc ya tdnu, occupi~s ne of thccentres of an ellipse called 'the pattern of men', anam tdnu, consisting of a full line r:illrrlthe 'goatherd's course', enegi rin o ~ u ,lanked by two do tted lines, tlie outsi de of w11ic.h isthe path of the male souls, and the inside the pat h of the female souls (fi,?. h).

Figure viii. The star of women

Figure ix. The star Sorghum-Fernale

Figure x. Th e Sorghum-F emale system

Th e Siriuq-Digitaria-Sorghum system is represented by a 'pattern of the Sigui',sigi tdnu, consisting of an oval (the world) i n which one of the centres is Sirius. T he twoalternate positions ofDigitaria at th e time of the Sigui are marked a nd the positions a t thesame moment of Sorghum-Female are marked o n two concentric circles encompassingSirius.


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Figure x i. Th e course of the stars of the Sirius system

Th e Sirius system as a whole is drawn a t Sanga in different ways, in particular a t thebado ceremony. On the fa~ ad ef the residence of the great Hogon of Arou an d inside theofficial houses assigned to the Hogons of Dyon, the course of these stars is rcpresented by'the pattern of the master of the star of the Shoemaker', dydn tolo hdnn tdrzu (fig. xi),.~ .composed of a vertical axis supporting, two-thirds of the way up, a bulge, Sirius (S),and broken a t its base to form an elongated foot jutti ng to the left at right-angles, thecourse of the star of the Shoemaker (C). I t is topped by a semi-oval whose arms extendquite low down; the meeting-point (D) with this oval synlbolizes Digitalis, whose courseis traced by the ri ght a rm (F) . But this ar m is also the star of women whilst the left armis Sorghum -Female (E). The lower part of the axis (SC), onger than the upper part (SD),reminds one that the Shoemaker (C) is farther than Sirius is from the other stars, andrevolves in the opposite direction.

Thus it is that during the harlo cercnlony theoldest woman of tlic family draws, at theentrance to the house, the 'pattern ofthe world of women', nrl~tno dnr~ , 8 or 'patternof the top and bottom of the world', duno doh doAule tcnu (fig. xii).

I t consists of an oval, the egg of the world, containing nine signs:Da . - Digitaria. The open curve on the right indicates the acceptance of all thesubstances and matter placed in it by the Creator.Db . - Digitaria in its second position. The open oval below marks !he exit of thematter which spreads across the world; A an d B also indicate the extreme positions ofDigitaria in relation to Sirius.

I Fifure x i i . Th e Sirius systemE. -T he star Sorghuni-Female, counterpart of Digitaria. As it is the 'sull ol'\\ern rn'.

it is placed a t the centre of the egg, like the sun at the centr e of the solar system. T he ovalis framed by two times two small vertical lines symbalizing the rays emi tted by the star .

1 S.- Sirius, 'star of the Sigui' or 'star of Yasigui'. Th e sign, so placed that it mate1 alizrs which point to th e 'fifth creation, in darkness, which will occur with the arri val of the


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the liaison worked by Sirius between t he two stars descr ibed above, consists of a kind ofX with one right ar m - he a nt, kcy - dividing a curved arm , the lower pa rt of which isYasigui, and the other part the piece of the organ which is detached during excision.Although female, the ant is here depicted by a straight rod, as if it were a man. Thismarks its domination of Yasigui's feminity, for Yasigul is maimed.

R. - The Yourougou. A hook, made up of a circular arc and a straight segmentindicates that the first movement of the Yourougou describes a curve which goes aroundthe sky; falling short of the goal, it descended directly, as is shown by the right-handsegment which is also the piece of bared placentam.

In effect, with Digitaria as the egg of the world (see earlier) this latter was split intotwo twin placentas which were to give birth respectively to a pair of Nommo Instructors.What happened, however, was that a single male being emerged from one of the pla-centas; in order to find his twin, this being tore off a piece of this placenta, which becameearth. T his intervention upset the order of creation: he was transformed into an animal,the pale fox,yuruga," and communicated his own impurity to the earth, which renderedit dry and barren. But the remedy to this situation was the sacrifice, to the sky, of one ofthe Nommo Instructors which had issued from the other p lacenta , and the descent of histwin to ear th with life-giving, purifyi ng rain.02 Th e destiny of Yourougou is to pursuehis twin to the end of time - the twin being his female soul at thc sarne timc. On themyth ica l level, Digitari a is thus considered to be the Yourougou held in space by Nommo,relentlessly revolving arou nd Sirius, or Yasigui in other words, an d nevcr c apable ofreaching it.N . -T he figure of the Nommo consists of a vertical scgment, Nornmo in person, uponwhich, and slightly below the upper edge, rests a line broken illto three unequal parts;the first is the seat of futur e female souls; the second the sea t of the souls of the de ad; a ndthe third the seat of living souls.

Fa. - Th e star of Women, nyZn tolo. An embryonic spiral calls to mi nd that i t is thesatellite of Sorghum-Female.Fb. - Th e 'sign of women', nydn idnu, consists of a diagon al line, m an, c ut by a linewhich ends in a convex curve, woman. Thi s shows the contac t between the sexes." Th erod is upright with astonishment at the sight of creation, whicli started with the systemof women. W oma n is a heavy-bellied profile, ready t o give birth .

Fc. - The sex of women is depicted by an oval which is open in the lower part,womb-world, r eady for procreation, gaping downwards to spread the seeds.

THE S W S SYSTEM AMONG THE BAMBARATh e Bamba ra call Sirius 'th e st ar of the foundation', sigi dolo, which is the same termused by the Dogon, and like them they call the star Digitariajni dolo." The expression

fd dolo ja, 't he two stars of knowledge', is generally att rib ute d to it, because 'it representsin th e sky the invisible body of Faro', conceived as a pair of twins.66 This n ame alsoimplies tha t the star is the seat of all learning.

The Sirius system is depicted on the chequered blanket called koro wa i a , 'colouredpicture', consisting of ten sequences mad e up of some thirty rectangles coloure d alter-nately indi go and white which symbolize, respectively, darkness an d light, eart h and sky,and, in Bambara mythology, Pemba and Faro. Scattered throughout there are twenty-three rectangles with different patterns of small stripes placed in the direction of thethread, alternating the indigo, white and red. Twenty of them represent stars or con-stellations; the other three respectively represent the rainbow, hailstones an d rain. Thefifth sequence in th e centre, in which t here is no co1ou;ed rectangle, symholizes theMilky Way. Th e ninth sequence, at one e nd, contains five black (not indigo) rectangles

waters to come'."Sigi dolo is first depicted al one 'in the cold season an d in im purit y' b y llie ninth

rectangle (third sequence); it is next depicted flanked byfz dolo ja (tw o red lilies) in t hefifteenth rectangle (eighth sequence).07

In Bambara mythology, Sirius represents Mousso Koroni Koundyt, twin of Penlba,maker of the earth, a mythical woman whom he chased through space and was neverable to catch. In every respect Mousso Koroni Koundy6 is comparable to Yaqigiii.4@She inaugurated circumcision a nd excision and, as a result, Sirius is the star of circum-cision, for both Bambara and Dogon alike.

THE SIRIUS SYSTEM AMONG THE BOZOTh e system is also known to the Bozo, who call Siri us simn knyne (litera lly: s i~ ti ngrortsrr)and its satellite toflu ifalema (literally: eye star).

I. A member of the Bambara living in Bandiagara also confirmed the most impc rt ~i lteaturcsof the system.2. Various pieces of information were supplied direct by the people of Yougo-Dogorou in I gg I ,

1936, 1948, I949 and 1950.3. We ourselves accepted thls figure in 1931and it can safely be retained for the time being.4. Cf. Griaule, Mosques Dogom, Travaux et Memoires de 1'Institut d'Ethnologic de I'Ur~iversiti:de Paris, vol. xxxiii (1938), chapter I.5. Ibid., pp. 167 ff., where this fault in the rock is described in detail.6. The Dogon are divided into four tribes, each of which had a different role at rmc timc.The four are the Arou (soothsayers), the Dyon (farmers) , the Ono (merchant


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Griaule, 'Le Verger des Ogol (Soudan franqais)', Journal de la SociNC des Africainis tcs, xvii,PP. 65-79.19. The Hogon of Sanga, who was enthroned in 1935, was thus the oldest man in the area atthat da te (i.e. the oldest of the Dyon). If we agree that h e was born in about 1855, hisgreat-grandfather, who, he claims, was very old when he himself was a young goatherd,was probably born between 1770 and 1780.Each fermenting-receptacle is evidence of the Sigui for which it was woven and is knownas such. This means that these objects form a sequence that is consitlerrd by the people tobe more than purely numerical.

20 . Th e period indicated by a series of this kind would be 1,440 years by the time the nextSigui came round. It would appare ntly correspond to the sequence of sixty reigns in whicheach Hogon appears and which itself covers a period of about 1,500 ycars. ?'he supremechiefs of the Arou tribe a re in fact chosen when still young, unlike the practice curren t amongthe other tribes. The average reign is likely to be twenty-live ycars.2 I. Sig6 do10 in Bambara.

22 . For a discussion of this mythical figure, who corresponds to the Rambaras' hfousso Koroni,see later in this article.23. Thepd, Digitaria coilis is cornmonly called 'fonio' in \Vest Africa.

24. F or a discussion of this mythical figure see later in tex t.25. In t he song the vowel becomes slightly nasal.26. Th e saying that 'if you look at Digitar ia it's as if the world were spinning (p d foleyrnefie adumgCm& ginme) was probably coined to convey this impression.27. Cf. M. Griau le, 'Signes graphiques des Dogon', in M. Griaule and G. Dietcrlen, 'Signes

graphiques soudanais', L'Homme, 3 (Paris, Herma nn).28. I n the system of notation based on t he figure 80 this number is called 'Do and 20'. Theperiod of fifty years is very close to that of Sirius's compa nion. Cf. P. Baizr, '1,e Cornpagnonde Sirius', L'Astronomis (Sept. 1931),p. 385.

29. For a discussion of this principle cf. Griaule, Dieu d' tau, pp. 183 f.30. After this reform the Hogons' sacrifice was replaced by animal sacrifice.31. This belief still obtains among the Dogon, and also among many other peoples; cf. Griaule,Jnrx Dogonr, Trauaux el Mlmoires & 1'Imfitut d'Ethnologie de I'UniversitC de Paris, vol. xxxii.32. For a discussion of the symbolism attache d to the number 7 cf. Griaule, Die11 d'earr, p. 60.33. Th e figure 60 is the old base of the system of notat ion still used in the Suclan for a number of

ritual calculations. In several Sudanese languages Go is known as the 'hf an dt calculation',because the system is believed to have spread from Mand6. Nowadays the various districtsuse 80 as a base for their calculations. Cf. G. Dieterlen, Essai sur la religion bambara (Paris:PUF).34. Th ere is a contradiction here th at has no t so far been solved. On the one hand the Dogonaccept that Digitaria is in orbit for fifty years and this figure govcrns thc way thc S i ~ u iscalculated. O n the other ha nd Siguis are held at sixty-year intcrvals. Ncvrrthclrss, it shouldbe noted that the date of the last Sigui, which was celebrated at the very bcgillning of thetwentieth century, was allegedly brought forward. Does this indicate that the date wasregularly brought forward for each ceremony? The uninitiated would thus be kept goingwith the idea that the oficial period was sixty years and that, for accirlcr~tal easons, ithappened to be reduced to a half-century.

The foregoing myth is given here as an indication of the changes or combinations in thesystem of computation that occur in the 'history' of the black peoplrs.35. pd &lo amma lolo ld woy mdm.36. According to Innekouzou, p? tolo, 'Digitar ia star', has a hidden etymological derivation from

polo &, 'profound beginning'.37. See below.38. The Digituria seed is mad e up of four parts, only one of which, the outer casing, has a na me,kobu. Th e other three are known as yolo.

41. Cf. below.42. Th ey are counted clockwise, starting from the highest figure on th e right-ha.12 :~ tlr .43. Thi s cow is an av atar of the Nommo.44. It should be remembered tha t the Dogon, like the other black peoples, use several JiTercnt

symbols or even several different sequences of images to expres s a single idca nr ohipct.Conversely, a symbol often represents several different things.

45. Th e shape of this basket is roughly th e same as the outline of a mortar.46. On the system of symbols represented by this basket.47. It is understood that Digit aria was the same shape as a basket, but was not a L.%~kct.@. The initiates have a different idea of these dimensions.49. aahna kize fi l guyoy.50. This drawing is executed in Wazouba inside the sanctuaries during the festival (1' r31 .5 . kiz e wagonode para gwciy wokuwogo dcga bay tuturu bye&.52. p? 1010 kiz e way w o gayle be &&mago wo sige be.53. Thi s has the sa me root as sagafara, 'strong, powerful' (native etymology).54. Th e number 480 is the product of the base numbe r 80 timcs the number of ttn s in th r hlcenumber 60, which was formerly in use. I t is used here to symbolize the lar gnt nurnl.-r of 111.55. Versions of, respectively, Inneko uzou, Mand a and Ongnonlou.56. p0- tolo adm f h dudun goway.57. The men have two twin-souls of different sexes. Cf. Griaule, D i m d 't au , ~ p .83 ff.

same idea is current among the Bambara, cf. Dieterlen, &sai sur la rcl@ion Ilambara,chapter 3.58. Th e figures reproduced here a re used in Wazouba.

59. This figure was taught to Ongnonlou in August 1950, by theHogon of Sacg?.60.Yourougou, who was born a single being, is fated to pursue t he female soul &a t is his ide-tltwin to the end of time. In p articular he tried to seize it by snatching away from his mother,

the Earth, part of the placenta that emerged aRer he was born, because he thought it w ahis twin soul.

6 I. Vulpes pdl ida .62. Cf. Griaule and Dieterlen, 'Le harpe-luth des Dogon', J o u m l de la Soc2U &s .4/ricair1Lle.c,

XX, 2.63. A man could just as well call it m r n i i u , 'drawing of men'.64. Fini, from which fonio, a word used throughout Sudanese Africa, is derivcd, i$ he sarnt:word as$J.65. The expression may possibly indicate the Sirius and Digitaria grouping, or Digitaria and

another companion. For Faro, or Fanro, the Bambara equiva lent of the Doqon Nommo,cf. Dieterlen, Essai sur la religion Bambara, chapters I an d 2.66. Cf. ibid., chapter 1. This refers to a future world th at will be heral ded by flood-waters.67. The k oso wa h blanket, which is worn by elderly initiates at the major Bamb ara institutions(d y o ) , belongs to a series of eight ritual blankets with patterns and colollrs reprrsentingmythology, cosmology and the social structure. They are used a t night or worn as clothing,depending on the status, duties and a i m of the wearer. Apart from their economic value,they are evidence of the wearer's knowledge. Thei r ritual use is plain, particularly durin gmarriage ceremonies. Th e Dogon have similar blankets. Th e one known asJanunu represent3a sort of very rough map of the world showing the most important stars.For a discussion of the way the Bambara and Dogon set great store by weaving and thevarious cotton strips, cf. Dieterlen, Essai, chapter 5, and Griaule, Dieu d'cau.68. For a discussion of the parallels between Mousso Koroni Kou ndy t a nd Yasigui, cf. I)ieterlcn,Essai, chapter I. For a discussion of Mousso Koroni Koundyt, Pemba and Faro, cf. S . deGanay, 'Aspect de mythologie et de symbolique bambara', Journal & p-yc.'r~!egie cornlole clpathologique (AptillJune 1949) ; Dieterlen, Essai, chapters I an d 2.

39. This expression is always being used by Mand a, whose extremely punct ilious mind thusavoids even mentioning the name of one of the most basic tabus of the totrnlic priest

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M Griaule & G Dieterlen - A Sudanese Sirius System