Monday, August 04, 2008

Mice in the news again

I have been reading about the Dogon tribe of West Africa. According to a well-known online encyclopedia;
Dogon villages have different buildings:
* Male granary: storage place for pearl millet and other grains. Building with a pointed roof. This building is well protected from mice. The amount of filled male granaries is an indication for the size and the richness of a guinna [large family grouping].
* Female granary: storage place for a woman's things, her husband has no access. Building with a pointed roof. It looks like a male granary but is less protected against mice.

The same article describes the Mono cult.
The Mono altar is at the entry of every village. Unmarried young men celebrate the Mono cult once a year in January or February. They spend the night around the altar, singing and screaming and waving with fire torches. They hunt for mice that will be sacrificed on the altar at dawn.

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