The Dogon groups live in a dry remote savannah area in the mid-section of Mali, stretching into Burkina Faso. Their territory includes a rocky plateau in the West and a sandy plain in the east, separated by a 400-700 meter high sheer cliff. The Dogon built their first villages in caves in this cliff, safe from the slave raids of the Fulani nomads who roamed the area. Isolated and distrustful of outsiders, they grew into a scattering of micro-communities, eventually each with a different language. These different languages have divided the Dogons into roughly 20 groups. One of these is the Ana Tinga Dogons.
Life in the bare rocky cliffs is harsh. In many cases, soil for gardens was brought in from the plains below, and pigeon dung collected from the cliff face was used as fertilizer. Since the Fulani have been subdued (since colonial times), the Ana Tinga Dogons have spread out from the cliff onto the plateau (where onions have been introduced as a cash crop) and into the plain (where they grow millet.) They also grow rice, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, and raise livestock.
Dogon families are close-knit, and the village is much like an extension of the family. People work together, hunt together, and perform ceremonies as a village.
They have a strong oral tradition. Griots are storytellers and the keepers of their oral history. They pass down their history, traditions, and stories to the younger generations. They often tell about Nommo, their common ancestor, and the creator of the world.
For centuries, the Ana Tinga Dogons resisted Islam. But as society modernizes, they are increasingly deciding that animistic religion is no longer adequate and grudgingly accept Islam, for lack of an alternative. In the few villages where Christianity has been lived out by missionaries, or locals who have become Christians elsewhere, one can indeed see the growth of the Christian faith.
The harvest is hampered by a lack of workers. There is an immediate need for workers for all 20 Dogon subgroups. Each will need to be able to speak the local language, and they must excel in love and good works.
Pray for an abundance of workers to take the name of Christ to each Dogon group, including the Ana Tinga Dogons.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in every Ana Tinga family, giving them a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Pray for divine dreams for every Dogon family leaders and griots, that will direct them to the cross.
Pray for the Lord to give them an abundant harvest as a testimony of his goodness and power.
Scripture Prayers for the Dogon, Ana Tinga in Mali.
Anonymous.
https://focusongeography.org/publications/articles/mali/index.html
https://www.amplifyglobe.com/cultures/the-dogon-people
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
