House of the Hogon (associated with the Lebe cult) :

     The Lebe cult is associated with the agricultural cycle. It is addressed to Lebe Seru, the first ancestor of the Dogon who was buried in the Mande and has resurrected in the form of a serpent. He guided his people to their new homeland. Earth from his grave in the Mande was taken on the journey eastwards. At destination (near the village of Kani Bonzon) a first altar made of ancestral earth mixed with the one of the new land was erected. These were the beginnings of the Lebe cult. Their migration not yet completed, the four tribes (Dyon, Arou, Ono, Domno) took each a part of this first altar and spread over the plateau, the escarpment and the plains. After having reached their final destination, the members of each tribe (the Arou excepted) divided their part of the Lebe between themselves and founded new villages.

     Each village built an altar containing some of the ancestral earth. The Hogon is its chief priest. He is in charge of all religious and agrarian rituals that are to guarantee sufficient future crops and by extention to ensure the perpetuation of his people. Agrarian rituals, such as the Bulu, need the intervention of both The Hogon and the Binu priest : their activities complement each other. The notion of the "resurrected" Lebe is closely linked with the agricultural cycle : after the harvesting, follows the sowing. Each time life has the upper hand.

     The oldest man in the village will assume office as Hogon (except in Arou). He must observe many taboos. The traveller passing through will find it out soon enough : it is strictly forbidden to shake hands. Once enthroned, the Hogon no longer has the right to have physical contact with anyone. This is also valid for his wives and children. His first wife will prepare his meals. But chastity remains obligatory until death. Also, he is no longer allowed to leave the compound. Reunions will be held and people will be received at his house.

House of the Hogon of Arou :

     Unlike the other tribes, the Arou did not split up their part of the Lebe, and instead chose to erect a single altar at Arou-près-Ibi. The Hogon of Arou is elected to his post by leading members of the Arou tribe. It is not a post coveted by anyone. One does not choose to be candidate. Some members are just liable to be chosen as the next Hogon. He will be informed of the fait accompli. Various rituals will take place before his assumption of duties. For example, the newly elected must cease to exist as an ordinary human being. Symbolic funerals are to be held and celebrated. During this time he will retreat for some 10 days in a big cave not too far from Arou. The place is called Komo-Sese. After this period of isolation he will return to Arou. It is at this point in time that his nomination as Hogon will become effective.

     Komo-Sese is a very large open cave. It shelters various Tellem and Dogon constructions : houses, granaries, altars and Binu shrines. On arrival from the Mande, the Arou tribe chose to settle down in this location. Not far from there, they erected the residence of the person who would become the first Hogon of Arou. The new dignitary had to be carried from the cave to his new house. Today, Komo-Sese is no longer inhabited but as part of his enthronement, the future Hogon is to spend some 10 days in this particular spot, after which time he will be brought on somebody's shoulders to his new and final residence.

     The photo in the right bottom corner shows a rain altar, the Andugo. Sacrifices on the altar will cause rainfall. It is made of pottery fragments and "thunder stones" which are said to fall from the skies with thunder and lightning.

see :

• G.dieterlen "Le titre d'honneur des Arou - 1982"
• N.Wanono "Le Hogon d'Arou: chef sacré, chef sacrifié? - Regards sur les Dogon du Mali"