Mentally in the dogon society - Mali republic

Abstract

The survey providing the data was performed from July,1994 through August,1996, in the Bandiagara region, both the plateau and the cliff. The ways through which the knowledge about wede-wede and its meanings are organized has been discussed hereby, as well as the treatment and non-treatment possibilities offered to those considered mentally ill in the dogon society, Western Africa. The dogon society has got quite an extensive lexicon linked to the designation and understanding of the mental illnesses. On the other hand, they own a set of organized knowledge which is assessed and exercized mainly by the men and passed on from generation to generation within the same family root or acquired by means of revelation. Anyone who is considered mentally ill may be faced with differing fates: one may be sheltered, treated and reinserted into the society, or one may be treated and - once he/she cannot manage to find his/her position back in the social spheres - taken care of by some relative or friend. One may also be imprisoned at home or abandoned to wander aimlessly. In the latter case, the mentally ill are often to be found in markets, wandering along the roads and in the country-side villages.