- Mali 2003. Cliff of Bandiagara. Please note the misspelling of the place name ("Badiangara"). The stamp is printed by the Tunisian Post Office.
Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of
the Dogons) (1989)
Mali
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The Bandiagara site is an outstanding landscape of cliffs and sandy plateaux
with some beautiful architecture (houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and Togu
Na, or communal meeting-places). Several age-old social traditions live on
in the region (masks, feasts, rituals, and ceremonies involving ancestor
worship). The geological, archaeological and ethnological interest, together
with the landscape, make the Bandiagara plateau one of West Africa's most
impressive sites.
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Drenched in morning light, the Bandiagara Escarpment and the village of Banani at its base is home to the Dogon. Nearly 600 years ago, the Dogon settled on the plateau and the slope below the cliffs. They farmed the arid land for survival.
Sources and links:
Other World Heritage sites in Mali (on this web site). Please refer to the UNESCO-listing, Mali Section, for further information about the individual properties.
Revised 20 jul 2006 |
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