Architecture: Bandiagara Cliff, Ireli Village

Description:  Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the Dogons settled in a mountainous area southwest of the Niger Loop, divided into three zones: the cliff, the plateau and a strip of semi-desert plain. Essentially farmers, they managed to develop the smallest piece of land among the scree. They have developed a remarkable civilization based on a highly codified symbolism and on a cosmogony experienced daily, at the center of which there is always the human being.

Anxious to protect themselves from the incursions of the warriors, some built their homes under the shelters of the pink sandstone cliff of Bandiagara. Adapted to the topography of the land, the family concessions whose thick walls give them the appearance of fortresses, are organized around a courtyard. Mill and granary granaries, in the form of fortified towers, are often located at the corners of the main yard enclosure.

Inside the houses a ventilation system makes it possible to regulate the temperature.