Sigui 1973: The Canopy of Circumcision

Beginning of the sextenary festival of the Sigui among the Dogon of the Bandiagara cliff in Mali. This first ceremony takes place at the village of Yougo Dogorou. The men, shaved and dressed in ritual clothes of the Sigui, enter the public square dancing the snake dance. They honor the terraces of the famous dead of the last sixty years and go to drink the sacramental millet beer.

The second year of the Sigui ceremonies, celebrated every sixty years by the Dogons of the Bandiagara cliffs, Mali, takes place in the village of Tyogou.

The third year of the Sigui ceremonies, celebrated every sixty years by the Dogons of the Bandiagara cliffs, Mali, takes place in the village of Bongo.

The fourth year of the Sigui ceremonies, celebrated every sixty years by the Dogons of the Bandiagara cliffs, Mali, takes place in the village of Amani.

The fifth year of the Sigui ceremonies, celebrated every sixty years by the Dogons of the Bandiagara cliffs, Mali, takes place in the village of Idyeli.

The sixth year of the Sigui ceremonies, celebrated every sixty years by the Dogons of the Bandiagara cliffs, Mali.

Sigui 1967-1973: invention de la parole et de la mort is a never-before-seen synthesis of the roaming ceremony of the Dogon people living in Mali, the Sigui. It is celebrated for seven years every sixty years, and it is to commemorate the first forefather’s death and funeral and the bestowal of speech to humans.