The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. They speak the Dogon languages, which are considered to constitute an independent branch of the Niger–Congo language family, meaning that they are not closely related to any other languages.
Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa. Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.
The Tellem were the people who inhabited the Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali between the 11th and 16th centuries CE. The Dogon people migrated to the escarpment region around the 14th century. In the rock cells of this red cliff, clay constructions shelter the bones of the Tellem as well as vestiges witnessing their civilization, well before that of the Dogons.
The wildlife of Mali, composed of its flora and fauna, is widely varying from the Saharan desert zone to the Sahelian east–west zone, to Mali, a landlocked francophone country in North Africa; large swathes of Mali remain unpopulated but has three sub-equal vegetation zones; the country has Sahara Desert in the north, the Niger River Basin at its center and the Senegal River on the south.
Religion in Mali is predominantly Islam with an estimated 95 percent of the population are Muslim, with the remaining 5 percent of Malians adhere to traditional African religions such as the Dogon religion, or Christianity. Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion daily, although some are Deist.
Dogon country is a region of eastern Mali and northwestern Burkina Faso populated mainly by the Dogon people, a diverse ethnic group in West Africa with diverse languages. Like the term Serer country occupied by the Serer ethnic group, Dogon country is very vast, and lies southwest of the Niger River belt. The region is composed of three zones: the plateau, the escarpment and the Seno-Gondo plain.
The Senegalese grasshopper is a medium-sized grasshopper species found in the Sahel region of Africa, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and West Asia. Although not called a locust in English, this species shows gregarious behaviour and some morphological change on crowding. In many parts of the Sahel, this species may cause greater year-on-year crop damage than better-known locusts, attacking crops such as the pearl millet.
The African rice grasshopper, Hieroglyphus daganensis is a medium-sized grasshopper species found in the Sahel region. Although not called a locust in English, this species shows gregarious behaviour and some morphological change on crowding and may become a moderately important pest species for small-holder farmers in the region.
Raiamas senegalensis is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus Raiamas from western Africa east to the River Nile. It sometimes is found in the aquarium trade.
Cataloipus cymbiferus is a West African species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. In Mali, it is a pest that frequently attacks the pearl millet.
The Binou is a Dogon totemic, religious order and secret ceremonial practice which venerates the immortal ancestors. It can also mean a water serpent or protector of a family or clan in Dogon. It is one of the four tenets of Dogon religion—an African spirituality among the Dogon people of Mali. Although the Dogons' "Society of the Masks" is more well known, due in part to Dogon mask–dance culture which attracts huge tourism, it is only one aspect of Dogon religion, which apart from the worship of the Creator God Amma, a rather distant and abstract deity in the Dogon world-view, is above all made up of ancestor veneration. The Binou serves as one of the four aspects of Dogon religion's ancestor veneration. Other than the Binou and the worship of Amma, the other three aspects of the religion includes the veneration of Lebe, which pertains to an immortal ancestor (Lebe) who suffered a temporary death in Dogon primordial time but was resurrected by the Nommo; the veneration of souls; and lastly, the Society of the Masks, which relates to dead ancestors in general. These myths are in oral form—known to us in a secret language. They form the framework of Dogon's religious knowledge, and are the fixed Dogon's sources relating to the creation of the universe; the invention of fire, speech and culture.
Awa, also known as the Awa Society, the Society of Masks, is an African mask and initiatory society of the Dogon people of Mali which is made up of circumcised men, and whose role is both ritual and political within Dogon society. The Awa Society takes an important role in Dogon religious affairs, and regularly preside over funereally rites and the dama ceremony—a ritual ceremony that marks the end of bereavement in Dogon country. This Society is one of the important aspect of Dogon religious life—which is primarily based on the worship of the single omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Creator God Amma and the veneration of the ancestors. Although it is only one aspect of Dogon's religious sects, it is perhaps more well known than the others partly due to Dogon mask–dance culture which attracts huge tourism, and their masks highly sought after, and in fact, one of the first to be sought after by art collectors in the west.
Kraussaria angulifera is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae found in Africa. The grasshopper is commonly found in the Sahelian region of West Africa, where it is known as a common pest of the pearl millet.
Kraussella amabile is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae found in Africa.
Kraussella is a genus of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae, subfamily Gomphocerinae.
Diabolocatantops axillaris is a grasshopper species in the subfamily Catantopinae and tribe Catantopini. It is found in Africa. It is a pest of the pearl millet in the West African Sahel, including in Mali.
Acrida bicolor is a grasshopper species in the Acrididae family. It is found in Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe.
Acorypha glaucopsis is a species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia.
Sherifuria haningtoni is a species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in West Africa.
Scintharista notabilis is a species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.
