Flat-topped buildings, part of a Dogon family compound, Sanga region, Mali

The Upper storey is reached by a ladder made from a forked tree-trunk usually propped against the outside wall, positioned near the entry to the vestibule. This upper level includes a multifunctional terrace which leads to other storage rooms on both sides. The walls of these dwellings are made of rubble embedded in adobe and plastered over with a coat of adobe. 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 National Geographic and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.