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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. These songs are attributed to a historic author, a blind poet/prophet who roamed the area in the nineteenth 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.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Preface
âThe Corpus
âLanguage and Orthography
1 What is the Baja Ni?
â1 Enigmatic Texts
â2 The Performance of 2005
â3 The Baja Ni in the Funeral Rites
2 The Blind Poet
3 Themes and Symbols in the Baja Ni
â1 Dynamics of Singing
â2 Greetings and Honorific Names
â3 Metaphors and Folktales
â4 The Internal Audience
â5 The Structure of the Baja Ni
4 Message and Meaning of the Baja Ni
â1 Remembrance
â2 Destiny, Fate and Agency
5 The Pre-Session
6 The SÉmbÉlÉ Ni
7 The Baja Na
Annex 1: Session of 2005: Overview of songs
Annex 2: History of recording the baja ni
Annex 3: The singers
â1 List of Famous Singers, the Troupe of Abirè, as Mentioned in the Lyrics
â âBaja Unrun
â âSisters of the Baja
â2 List of Singers in the 2005 Baja Lugo Session
â âBaja Unrun
â âSisters of the Baja
â3 Research Team Bamako 2016
Annex 4: List key terms Dogon-English
References
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
List of Figures
Preface
âThe Corpus
âLanguage and Orthography
1 What is the Baja Ni?
â1 Enigmatic Texts
â2 The Performance of 2005
â3 The Baja Ni in the Funeral Rites
2 The Blind Poet
3 Themes and Symbols in the Baja Ni
â1 Dynamics of Singing
â2 Greetings and Honorific Names
â3 Metaphors and Folktales
â4 The Internal Audience
â5 The Structure of the Baja Ni
4 Message and Meaning of the Baja Ni
â1 Remembrance
â2 Destiny, Fate and Agency
5 The Pre-Session
6 The SÉmbÉlÉ Ni
7 The Baja Na
Annex 1: Session of 2005: Overview of songs
Annex 2: History of recording the baja ni
Annex 3: The singers
â1 List of Famous Singers, the Troupe of Abirè, as Mentioned in the Lyrics
â âBaja Unrun
â âSisters of the Baja
â2 List of Singers in the 2005 Baja Lugo Session
â âBaja Unrun
â âSisters of the Baja
â3 Research Team Bamako 2016
Annex 4: List key terms Dogon-English
References
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
Anthropologists working in West Africa, Institutes and libraries specialising in African Studies, scholars of oral literature, Dogon scholars and students, scholars in African linguistics.