Atmo Domno - refleksje nad przywództwem i statyfikacją społeczną u Dogonów z Mali

The Dogons - it is one of the today better known tribes of the West Africa. Getting known their culture has been recently associate only with perfect investigations of French ethnologists concentrated around Marcel Griaule. The author, for the first time, encountered the Dogon Tribe over 30 years ago. The multiple returns (often to the very same places) have made possible to observe their culture within the space of many years. The author has got to know many representatives of this tribe, some of them fleetingly, but with some of them he has been in touch until today. Atmo Domno - an inhabitant of a village called Yougo Na can be rated among the second group. However, Atmo Domno was not an "ordinary" Dogon. By virtue of his birth, he belongs to a group of Dogons highly positioned within the social hierarchy, who decide about not only the village Yougo Na life, but also of whole tribe, as Atmo is a member of a group of so called "Impure". In the Dogon Tribe the "Impure" take care of rituals connected with death, they prepare deceased for the funeral and bury him, they make the offerings, eat sacrificed animals, build solitude huts for women, etc. The status of "Impure" is necessary to run for position of Olubaru - the leader of a secret association Awa. As opposed - the "Pure' innenomo can not do any rituals connected with death, make offerings or even hunt. But, on the other hand, the status of "Pure" in required for being a Hogona. With time, Atmo became a Binukedine (leader) of his clan, but he resigned at the moment of becoming Olubaru in the association Awa in Yougo Na, which means to have one of the highest religious statuses in Dogon Tribe. Olubaru from this village will have an unquestionable influence inter alia on: look and course of the forth- coming holiday of Sigui. Unfortunatel y, Amo had faint chance to live till this next holiday, as it will start around year 2028. Atmo Doumbo died in 2000. During my stay in Yougo Na in 2006, I was shown a several years old boy named Hamidou, in whose body lived a soul of nani Atmo, after his death, and who becomes the next "Impure".