For the purpose of giving an initial understanding of Dogon religious practice, this films show a common method of divining. A shaman, the Dogon soothsayer, an elder of the village, enters the sacred ground. By members of his village, he uses a symbolic language to draw a representation of the village in the sand. He then drops peanuts at strategic places to lure the night jackals into the field. The following morning the shaman returns to prophesy the future from the tracks left by the jackal in the sand. (NYPL catalog)
Films » Magic Rites: Divination by Animal Tracks
Magic Rites: Divination by Animal Tracks
Alternative Title: Divination by Animal Tracks
Series Title: African Village Life
Summary:
Description:
Edited Film
Country/Location: Mali (Highlands)
Tribe or Group: Dogon
Producer: Julien Bryan
Director: Hermann Schlenker
Cinematographer: Hermann Schlenker
Production Company: IFF
Running Time: 7 min.
Years Filmed: 1965
Decade Produced: 1960s
Years Distributed: -1967
Film Gauge: 16mm
Stock: Color Safety
Footage Count: 266'
Sound: Un-narrated, Recorded On Location
Notes: All footage shot for IFF. OCN owned by Hermann Schlenker. IFF does not own OCN- returned to Schlenker after production of internegatives. There are 12 titles in the African Village Life Series.
