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'.