Abstract
This article provides a detailed account of the material culture and techniques associated with the local manufacture of cloth and clothing among a Dogon community in the Sanga region of Mali in the early 1980s. It also provides an account of some of the key symbolic associations Dogon gave to cloth, male and female clothing styles, and the tasks associated with cloth manufacture over this same period. The article concludes with a discussion of the broader relevance of the study to understanding the nature and meaning of technology in preindustrial societies, and offers suggestions as to the significance of observations concerning the tasks of spinning and weaving among the Dogon made by Marcel Griaule and other members of his research team in the early decades of the 20th century.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 77-98 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Anthropos |
| Volume | 103 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Keywords
- Mali
- Dogon
- technology
- spinning
- weaving
- cloth symbolism
- discard practices
- WEST-AFRICA
- TECHNOLOGY
- ANTHROPOLOGY
- CULTURE
- MYTH