practice of Dama and Bolokoli among the Dogon and Bamanan

This book offers an in-depth analysis of two major ritual practices in Mali's traditional societies: the Dama, a ceremony commemorating the dead among the Dogon, and the Bolokoli, an initiation rite of circumcision marking the passage from childhood to adulthood among the Bamanan. Inscribed in the belief systems and cosmogonic representations specific to these communities, these rituals play a central role in the structuring of social life, the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and the perpetuation of cultural values. This book highlights the symbolic, social and educational dimensions of these practices, which help to regulate community life and strengthen social ties. Through the Dama and the Bolokoli, Dogon and Bamanan societies ritualize both the relationship with death and the social integration of the individual, inscribing these moments in a set of norms and values inherited from tradition.