Sacred Village of the Dogon Tribe
Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali early 2000’s
We were met at the base of the cliffs called the Bandiagara Escarpment and guided to a sacred village by twin brothers who were shamen or witch doctors. The Dogon are afraid to enter, to do so brings bad luck, but the shamen had no fear. We weren’t allowed to enter any buildings; we stood at the entrance of the village and looked from there. We did walk along the edge and saw some of the hiding places where artifacts: animal skins, pottery, and wooden poles (maybe those were weapons) had been piled in a haphazard manner.
Doesn’t this look like the cave dwellings in the American Southwest? Or maybe a futuristic city. I think an artist who draws futuristic battles could easily use these buildings as a template.