Paper short abstract:

In this paper we revisit the concept of Dogon material identtiies and how technical action and material culture allow a critique of historical and geographical construction of mande 'civilisation'

Paper long abstract:

By drawing upon studies of technical actions related to building practice and architectural form and space, we propose to examine how a sense of Dogoness is construtced on a daily basis . We argue that the Dogon are shaping and displaying identity that extends to a much wider geographical spread. We consider the value of concepts such as containment and symbolic reservoir and whether material culture rather than linguistic categories offers a more grounded means of exploring variation in space and time and possible relatedness as part of a broader west-central African 'civilisation'.