I like the Dogon. Not only do they have a weird and suggestive history and mythology, with densely packed symbolic meanings that map well to science, mirrored in all of their routine behaviors and hand-made things. They also seem like they are really, really nice people. After reading all about their belief that amphibious aliens gave them their knowledge, it has been refreshing to read next about what they’re like as people and how they live. I’ve made my way most of the way through the book, Dogon: Africa’s People of the Cliffs. They have been dubbed the sewa people by neighboring tribes, because of their greeting rituals that always involve the response sewa. Dogon greeting rituals go something very roughly like this: How is your health? Sewa. Are you strong? Sewa. How is your mother? Sewa. How is your father? Sewa. How is your sister? Sewa. How is your brother? Sewa. Sewa can be translated as something like very good. If a family member is not doing well, the Dogon will still answer sewa. Later in the conversation, he or she may provide information about a family member’s health problem or difficulty, but this information is never a part of the greeting ritual. Every Dogon meeting another Dogon in the village throughout the course of the day goes through this ritual. The Dogon who is already in the place of meeting initiates the greeting. Then the Dogon who has just arrived repeats the ritual. Another example of just how darn nice the Dogon are is that one of their central rituals involves men, women, young and old thanking each other.

Other Posts Categorized as Fiction Research:

• Ibogaine Use Among the Dogon - January 20th, 2007
• The Dogon People of Africa - January 7th, 2007
• Aquarian Cities in the Sea - October 14th, 2006