The Blacksmiths of the Dogon

Hey dear Hive community, first of all I hope that you are all doing relatively well and that you had a Friday that was full of positive experiences! Today I would like to write something about African culture and hope you can learn something new

Here are some pictures that I shot during one of my last visits to a museum where there was a lot about African culture and I would like to use some of the pictures as an intention to tell you something about the dogon. The Dogon are a people who live in the east of Mali near the mountain region and they are known to live in isolation for a very long time and have created a culture to which it is estimated that almost 400,000 people belong. The dogon are particularly appreciated for their high culture, blacksmithing and knowledge in many areas and it is believed that the origin is in Egypt and in the 11th century, they have settled their current territory. It is not exactly researched why they have relocated, but researchers believe that they were once expelled from their original territory because they did not subjugate themselves. In general, the dogon were known for their artistic skills and in addition to blacksmithing, they were considered great artists when it came to creating sculptures or other clay.

The dogon were also often appreciated as traveler and are known for traveling through different countries to bring their culture and art closer to the locals and they were also musicians, dancers and were considered very diverse. Nowadays they travel rather less and have become rather sedentary and the most known has probably helped them their blacksmithing trade which is of great importance in Africa and has helped shape many kingdoms and the traces of the forges probably run throughout whole Africa and if you want to learn more about the history of the blacksmiths in general, you will find a contribution from me here. This craft is divided into different areas at the dogon and they were known to have shaped agriculture with their tools and to have forged some utensils which was of great importance for field cultivation and they have also produced many weapons, armor and other tools. The dogon had many rites and a great cult of the gods from a mythological point of view and they considered the forging craft as a kind of heavenly gift and often associated it with creative power.

They thought that the blacksmith once came from heaven and some day visited them to transfer the forces to them and with the power generated by the hammer that hits the anvil, they can access the powers that once the divine blacksmith gave them. As in other cultures, the blacksmith was also associated with fire here and in addition with all other elements such as air, water and earth and he is even considered a bringer of culture. The forges had such a high priority among the dogons and they were known for always marrying each other and played an important role and if there was a dispute, for example, they took on the role of diplomats. Many rituals were created to worship the blacksmith and they were often called scholars and within the dogon they were also revered for the supernatural abilities such as to create rain or generally influence the weather and the blacksmith was also associated with magical powers.

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you can learn something new and like my post! I used my iPhone 12 to take these pictures.