cosmologyfemale twin. Breaking all cosmic rules, Ogo imposes his own disorder
upon the creative process, but Amma transforms the placenta into the
earth that assumes the shape of a human figure. Since the placenta is
Ogo’s, it is technically also his mother, the earth, with whom he then
copulates, thereby defiling the earth through this act of incest, resulting
in a sterile and dry earth bereft of its creative potential and creating the
first race of deformed, monstrous beings, who reproduce through incestu-
ous unions.
The restoration of the cosmos begins with Amma sacrificing Nommo
Semu, the other male twin. In another version of the narrative, Amma
commands castration that results with slitting placenta and penis, which
separates the victim from his placenta and his penis. By returning to the
sky and stealing the four sexual souls of his castrated twin, Ogo contin-
ues his revolt by placing the souls on his own foreskin, but Ogo is cir-
cumcised by the teeth of his brother, which dooms Ogo to celibacy and
sterility. Ogo is later transformed into Pale Fox who wanders the surface
of the earth searching for his female soul. Beforehand, Amma sacrifices
Nommo and scatters his dismembered body in the four directions, which
function to restore cosmic order. After Nommo is restored to life, he is
made ruler of the universe, and from his four spirits, which are created
by Amma, and their offspring come the ancestors of the Dogon, who are
sent to earth in a great ark that possesses everything necessary for life
and for the restoration of the earth. As a final sacrifice, Amma offers
Lebe, an offspring of Nommo, but the god restores Lebe to life in the
form of a snake, whose bones remain in the earth where they continue
to enrich it. This final restoration of the cosmos mediates the opposition
between order and disorder, and it restores the original order that is
disrupted by the principles of disorder: emotion, irrationality, sterility,
and singularity.
The Dogon and Buddhist cosmologies enable one to witness two very
different versions of the origin and structure of the world that embody
within them religious values and its effect on human existence. The
Dogon and Buddhist examples reflect the complexity of cosmology, and
they help humans find their place in the world and provide an explanation
of their current situation. The cosmologies reflect philosophical issues,
such as the cyclic, precarious, and impermanent nature of the cosmos for
the Buddhist, whereas the Dogon cosmology manifests cultural values
such as community, the necessity to avoid incest, and the ritual impor-
tance of circumcision.
Further reading: Eliade (1959); Griaule (1965); Long (1963); Olson (2005)