Mali: Dogon architecture

Africa Shrine blogs about Dogon Architecture. with an article from Merkus, E. An Introduction to The Pyschology oF Architecture.

The homes the Dogon people of Central Africa are an excellent example of how the original container is reproduced almost literal form. Although these people live quite simply in our terms, their culture is very complex and closely aligned with nature. To the Dogon, home is not a particular building, but a series of stages, which includes several buildings. The home is closely related to the development of the individual. For example a Dogon wife stays with her father until she has had her third child. She does however sleep with her husband during the night and returns to her father’s house during the day. It is a hierarchical system where the family is spread over several houses until they have achieved the status required to own their own home. Their homes are not owned by individuals as such, but are stages in one could say, psychic development and are shared as such.

A friend put some nice Mali photos on Flickr for me to use. Here’s a couple of Dogon architecture from Tata Timbo: