Dogon Tribe House Post - Dogon

Dimensions: L:38.6in W:9.8in D:7.1in

The Dogon House Post, also known as the Dogon Tellem Pillar or Tellem Post, is a significant architectural element found in traditional Dogon homes in Mali, West Africa. It is carved from a single tree trunk. It serves as a structural support for the roof of the house, but it also holds deep cultural and religious significance within Dogon society. The posts are often positioned at the center of the house, symbolizing the axis mundi or the connection between the earthly and spiritual realms. The carvings often depict human figures, animals, masks, and geometric patterns. Each motif carries specific meanings and communicates important cultural messages. It is considered a sacred object that provides protection, spiritual guidance, and blessings to the household.

About the Tribe

Dogon are an ethnic group from Mali's central plateau region that extends into Burkina Faso. They arrived in the area around the 14th century CE. The majority of them live in the rocky hills, mountains, and plateaus of the Bandiagara Escarpment. The Dogon people are shrouded in mystery due to their knowledge of astronomy that pre-dates modern technology by thousands of years. They have known information about the stars before telescopes were invented. According to them, the Sirius A, which is the brightest star in Earth’s night sky, had a much dimmer companion: Sirius B, which has a fifty-year elliptical orbit around the bright Sirius A and is extremely dense. The Dogon claim that their knowledge of astronomy involves contact with extraterrestrial life dating back to around 3,200 BC.