Traditional mud brick village, Sanga, Mali

"Villages in Dogon country along the escarpment are composed in clear-cut social units. A village generally consists of several wards. Each ward includes a few clans, called gina [ginna (gin'na)], meaning literally "big house." Some special buildings mark the wards and clans. Each ward has its dancing square, tei; overlooking the tei is the major togu na, the men's house; a special building, yapunu ginu, is reserved for menstruating women; each clan has an ancestral adobe, called gina. In addition, most wards have one major shrine, standing apart." [Hollyman S. and Van Beek W., 2001: Dogon, Africa's People of the Cliffs. Harry N Abrams, Inc.]. During his trip to Mali, Elisofon visited the Dogon people in Sanga (Sangha), a group of thirteen villages lying east of Bandiagara at the top of an escarpment. The most important villages are Ogol-du-Haut and Ogol-du-Bas. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.