 Sign for Daga Tereli off the main road along the Bandiagara Plateau |
 Pond formed by damming a stream, Daga |
 Baobabs and fields near Daga-Tereli |
 Kids running excitedly from the village as we arrive in our big red truck |
 After Songho, we were hoping for a quiet campsite... |
 Daga-Tereli |
 Daga-Tireli is a Dogon village on the rim of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
 Stone hut with what looks like millet stalks for a roof, Daga |
 Dogon plateau village of Daga-Tereli |
 Daga-Tereli |
 Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
 Daga-Tireli, Dogon Country |
 The moon is already high in the sky |
 The first shadows of evening cross the Dogon village of Daga-Tireli |
 Sunset, Dogon Country, Mali |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Sunset, Dogon Country |
 Red rocks around the village of Daga |
 Last light |
 Last light |
 The end of the day |
 Early morning, Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
 Early morning, Daga-Tereli, Dogon Country |
 The morning sun illuminates the stone houses in Daga |
 The pond at Daga-Tereli |
 Daga-Tereli |
 The village women are up early doing their many chores |
 Fields and pond, Daga |
 Onion fields, Daga-Tireli |
 The Two Baobabs near Daga |
 Back at the camp for breakfast |
 Villagers gather early hoping to be chosen as "porters" for our day hike to Tireli at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
 "Jesus seul est mon sauveur" |
 The top of the Bandiagara Escarpment, part of the Dogon Plateau |
 Dogon Country, Mali |
 The Two Baobabs make great landmarks for hiking around Daga |
 The Two Baobabs, Daga |
 Our expedition departs for the one hour hike to the Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the escarpment |
 The Two Baobabs |
 One of the Two Baobabs |
 Lizard |
 Baobab |
 Baobab, Dogon Plateau |
 Dogon Country |
 Pause for a nature talk at the Two Baobabs |
 Dogon Plateau |
 A seemingly bottomless cleft in the escarpment, which we had to cross |
 Dogon Country |
 The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
 Sandy terrain at the base of the escarpment near Tereli |
 The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
 Dogon Plateau |
 The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country, Mali |
 Udo taking a photo from the top of the Dogon escarpment |
 The Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
 Günter pointing out features to the group |
 Sand dune at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment, Dogon Country |
 Tino on the hike in Dogon Country |
 Another cleft in the cliff |
 Baobab on the top of the Dogon Plateau, Mali |
 Pays Dogon, Mali |
 Dogon Country, Mali |
 That is one of the most frightening bridges I have ever seen... |
 Trekking down the Dogon Escarpment from Daga to Tereli |
 Our massive expedition follows |
 The edge of the Dogon Plateau |
 The edge of the Dogon Plateau, the Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali |
 The first sight of the large Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the cliff |
 That's the square where the Dogon Mask Dance we've come to see will take place |
 The Dogon Village of Tereli seen from the cliffside |
 Tereli, Dogon Country |
 Bandiagara Escarpment |
 Tereli, Dogon Country |
 The granaries are the most distinctive feature of Dogon villages |
 Tireli, Dogonland |
 The Tellem were the cliff dwelling people who predated the Dogon by many centuries |
 Bandiagara Escarpments |
 Cliff dwellings of the Tellem high above Tireli predate the Dogon by centuries before the Dogon |
 Tereli |
 Tereli |
 Dogon women with baskets on the trail |
 Ever wonder what the women carry in their baskets? |
 Dogon Country |
 Hiking from Daga to Tireli |
 Dogon Country |
 Red rock cliffs of the Bandiagara Escarpment above Tereli, Mali |
 Granaries of the Dogon village of Tireli |
 Granary in Tireli |
 A sure sign that this is not a Muslim village |
 The cliff dwellings of the Tellem are used as tombs by the Dogon |
 Dogon village of Tereli, Mali |
 Hotel-Bar La Grande Place de Togu-na Chez Boureima a Tereli-Dama |
 Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
 Dogon-style granaries in Tireli |
 Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
 Village of Tereli, Dogon Country, Mali |
 "Toguna", the social center of the village for Dogon men |
 Toguna, where the Dogon men hang out |
 Dogon village of Tereli at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment |
 Tereli, Dogon Country |
 Tereli, Dogon Country |
 Visite Chez Le Hogon |
 Painting on a building in Tereli inviting tourists to visit the Hogon, the village spiritual leader |
 Crocodile shaped water spout out of a stone building in Tereli |
 Crocodile shaped water spouts out of a stone building in Tereli |
 Baobab with the cliffs above Tireli |
 The mudbrick mosque in Tereli |
 Mosque of Tireli |
 Mosque of Tireli |
 Just about every Dogon village has a mosque although the Dogon tend to not be Muslim |
 Dogon women carrying baskets of millet, the staple crop of West Africa |
 Millet, the staple food crop of West Africa |
 The only motor vehicle we saw in the Dogon villages we visited |
 Our first stop, the main hotel-restaurant of the Dogon village of Tereli |
 Ornate carved door on the hotel/restaurant in Tireli |
 Detail of the carved door at the hotel/restaurant, Tireli |
 Ornately carved Dogon door, Mali |
 Detail of a carved door in the shape of a crocodile |
 Tereli |
 Günter briefing the group on the Dogon dance that we are about to see |
 View from the ceremonial ground |
 Dogon drum, Mali |
 Dogon drummers |
 Tereli puts on a short dance for tourists based on the Dogon Dama ceremony |
 Dogon chorus, Tereli |
 Dogon Kanaga Mask |
 Dogon Kanaga Mask |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tereli, Mali |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tereli, Mali |
 Dogon Kanaga Mask |
 Kanaga masks drive out the spirits of the dead |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
 Dogon animal mask dancer - oryx |
 Dogon animal mask dancer |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
 Dogon Satimbe mask |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
 Dogon animal mask dancer |
 Dogon animal mask dancer |
 MaliNov06 2411.jpg |
 MaliNov06 2412.jpg |
 MaliNov06 2414.jpg |
 Sirige mask dancers, Dogon Country |
 The impressive dancers on stilts |
 The stilt dance looks lie a water bird... |
 ...but the costume is said to imitate Fulani women |
 MaliNov06 2426.jpg |
 Dogon drummers |
 Dogon stilt dancers resting |
 Dogon Kanaga Masks lead to clear away the spirits |
 Dogon Kanaga Mask, Tereli |
 Dogon mask dancer with the older village men who perform the chorus |
 Dogon stilt dancers awaiting their entry |
 Dogon animal mask dancer - antelope |
 Dogon animal mask dancers, hyena |
 After the entry, each mask type dances individually |
 Dogon animal mask - rabbit |
 Mask dancer with singers |
 MaliNov06 2451.jpg |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tereli |
 Dogon masks dancing together, Tereli |
 Dogon Sirigie mask dancer |
 Dogon animal mask dancers - antelope |
 Dogon Satimbe mask |
 The figure on top of the Dogon Satimbe mask |
 Dogon mask dance, Tereli |
 Dogon stilt dancers - waterbird or Fulani women |
 Cowrie shells on the back of a stilt dancer's costume |
 Dogon mask dancers, Tireli |
 Dogon mask dancer after the performance |
 MaliNov06 2474.jpg |
 Sirige Mask representing the link between the mortal and the spirit worlds |
 Dogon dancers resting after the performance |
 The stilt dancer's costume with baobab fruit breasts |
 MaliNov06 2479.jpg |
 MaliNov06 2480.jpg |
 Dogon animal masks - hyenas |
 Dogon animal mask - antilope |
 Dogon animal mask - Rabbit |
 Dogon mask dancers of Tereli resting after the performance |
 Dogon animal mask - Hyena |
 The older men who no longer dance now sing |
 The tribal elder of Tereli thanks us for coming |
 Dogon chorus |
 Bandiagara Escarpment rising above the Dogon village of Tereli |
 Baobab, Tereli |
 Dogon pottery, Terely |
 Tereli, Dogonland |
 Stickers of various tour operators who have passed this way |
 Sandy plains at the base of the Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali |
 Sand dunes outside the Dogon village of Tereli |
 Dogon woodcarving for sale at the hotel |
 Dogon mask for sale, Tereli |
 Dogon statues, Tereli |
 Dogon woodwork, Tereli |
 Dogon granary, Tereli |
 Gartenzwerg |
 Granaries, Tereli |
 Granaries, Tereli |
 Granary without the thatched hat |
 Rasta-Dogon Amagounon Cayl, 6th Class |
 Another teenage Dogon boy, Abel Saye, from Tereli |
 Young boy, Tereli |
 Abel Saye, Tereli |
 Amagounon and Abel Saye |
 Amagounon and Abel Saye up a tree in Tireli |
 Hiking back up to Daga |
 The primary guide for our Trek |
 I gave the guide a beer, which he gave to his son |
 Hubertus and half a dozen kids returning to base camp |
 Josef in a good mood with the Daga-Tereli kids |