An art dealer in Sangha, Mali, professes to be the grandson of Ogotemmeli, known fromGriaule's publications, 1990
Ogotemmeli (also:Ogotemmêli[2] orOgotommeli, died 1962[1]) was theDogon elder andhogon who narrated the cosmogony, cosmology and symbols of the Dogon people to French anthropologistMarcel Griaule during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, that went on to be documented and adapted by contemporary scholars. A lot of what is known about theDogon religion, cosmogony and symbolism came from Griaule's work, which in turn came from Ogotemmeli—who taught it to him.[3][4][5]
Ogotommeli was blind since his youth as a result of his gun accidentally exploding in his face during a hunting expedition. That incident occurred as he was about to fire at aporcupine. Despite the painful accident and his disability, Ogotemmeli attributed it to fate. As a diviner, elder and hogon, Ogotemmeli recounted that this fate was previously made known to him, but he chose to ignore it, and as such, had paid a costly price for ignoring the predictions.[2]
In 1931,Marcel Griaule was on anethnographical expedition inWest Africa. He has heard of Ogotemmeli's name and reputation—as a famous diviner and "a man of outstanding wisdom" in the region. As such, Griaule tried to get an interview with him—sending messengers to search for him. When Ogotemmeli finally agreed to the interview, Griaule left for theDogon region ofMali in 1933. For thirty–three days, Ogotemelli divulged to Griaule the Dogon's belief system.[2]
Those conversations with Ogotemmeli resulted in Griaule's most famous work—a diary of religious instructions by the high priest titledDieu D'eau orConversations With Ogotemmeli (Griaule, M.,Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas (contribution:Dieterlen, Germaine,International African Institute), International African Institute (1965),ISBN9780195198218 (Originally published in 1948 asDieu d'Eau)), and a finished anthropological report on the Dogon religion titledLe Renard Pale orThe Pale Fox.[2][3]
Griaule's work has been criticised by scholars over the years as being "too idealistic at the expense of historical dynamism."[2]
In anthropology, Ogotemmeli has become a well known name, to the extent that "it epitomizes 'the informant', the person who describes phenomena and traits of his/her own culture, making them understandable to the researcher."[6]
