Dogon family compounds at the base of the Bandiagara escarpment, Sanga region, 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. Walled in with a low stone fence that marks the limit but allows the neighbors and the passersby to look in, a typical family compound has a hut for the man, a hut for each of his wives, and a fair number of granaries. An altar, tucked away in a corner of the compound, and if possible situated under an overhanging rock, serves for worship and sacrifices." [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. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.