Antogo Fishing Ritual
Just beneath the village of Bamba, in the Northern part of Dogon country in Mali, lies a small, yet sacred lake, where fishing is permitted only once a year during the unique ritual called Antogo.
The children and men form a frame of sorts around the lake; women are prohibited from participating in the ritual as they are considered impure because of their menstrual cycles. Once the frame is formed, they wait and watch, until the tinkling of a bell and a gunshot is heard.
Then, hundreds of Dogon jump wildly into the lake, armed with fishing baskets, attempting to catch as many fish as possible, as fast as they can. The caught fish are quickly stashed into local leather bags, but sometimes people keep them in their mouths until they can find a place for storage. The Dogons soon become unrecognizable, covered completely in mud.
The dance continues, nevertheless, and the fishing quickly turns into a frenzy. All this goes on for about 15 minutes, when a gunshot marks the end of the ritual. All the captured fish are put together and handed over to the oldest man of Bamba, the village elder, who will make sure the catch is properly distributed among the villages.
Just beneath the village of Bamba, in the Northern part of Dogon country in Mali, lies a small, yet sacred lake, where fishing is permitted only once a year during the unique ritual called Antogo.
The children and men form a frame of sorts around the lake; women are prohibited from participating in the ritual as they are considered impure because of their menstrual cycles. Once the frame is formed, they wait and watch, until the tinkling of a bell and a gunshot is heard.
Then, hundreds of Dogon jump wildly into the lake, armed with fishing baskets, attempting to catch as many fish as possible, as fast as they can. The caught fish are quickly stashed into local leather bags, but sometimes people keep them in their mouths until they can find a place for storage. The Dogons soon become unrecognizable, covered completely in mud.
The dance continues, nevertheless, and the fishing quickly turns into a frenzy. All this goes on for about 15 minutes, when a gunshot marks the end of the ritual. All the captured fish are put together and handed over to the oldest man of Bamba, the village elder, who will make sure the catch is properly distributed among the villages.