Marcel Griaule and "the God of Water"

Marcel Griaule: working at camp in Mali (left) and teaching in Paris (right).

Griaule's first major post-war work, Dieu d'Eau, (in English known as Conversations with Ogotemmeli: An Introdution to Dogon Religious Ideas), on first reading, is a work of considerable beauty, elegance and profound insight. It was aimed at, and greatly appealed to, the public's great unacknowledged thirst for the spiritual. It is reminiscent of Carlos Castaneda. For the late Castaneda, it is now considered a fair possibility that Don Juan Matus did not exist, despite the compelling philosophy of his early fictions. With Griaule, the answer was slightly more subtle to locate. Dieu d'Eau, at any rate, contains considerably more reality. In this book, Griaule's informant Ogotemmeli tells the rich creation tale of supreme god Amma's union with Mother Earth to create the jackal, bringing imperfection into the world, an act redeemed by Amma's creation of Nommo, aquatic beings who bring the material world in their ark, and the subsequent development of Dogon ancestors, crafts and history.

Van Beek's case is very detailed and closely argued, a mesh from which not much can escape. He describes the Griaule Dogon material as a "classic paradigm anomaly," and goes about the task of putting the anomaly to rest with great thoroughess.

Broadly speaking, he makes the case that Griaule's oevre from Dieu d'Eau onwards is Dogon produced, but inspired by Griaule indirectly with his "etic" fieldwork methods (i.e. giving people things to name, such as star maps) and not forgeries per se. He claims that Ogotemmeli made up a fresh story for Griaule, for the reason that the myths in Dieu d'Eau are untraceable or unrecognisable today. Van Beek, for instance, disputes the status of the Nommo in Dogon religion as either creator or redeemer. Sceptics might ask whether during Griaule's conversations with Ogotemmeli, was he taking shorthand, or was a tape running? However, there is a striking confirmation that these words were really spoken by Ogotemmeli. This is Griaule's translator Sgt Koguem, who evidently found the doctrines important enough to integrate into his life.

Some Dogon sources are cited by van Beek for Ogotemmeli, however, and Dieu d'Eau is said to be "more Dogon" than the works which followed it.


Van Beek paints a picture of increasing arrogance in the quest for information, in pursuit of a spurious "secret knowledge" that was more Griaule's preconception than a real fact of Dogon culture, and then being seemingly oblivious to the effects of over-classification by his informants eager not to disappoint their guest, while gently mocking him at the same time. This is the opposite trajectory readers are led to believe after reading Dieterlen's introduction to Dieu d'Eau:

(1) In relation to Griaule's methods:

"He combined with the most rigorous pursuit of objective and scientific observation of the facts observed, an active participation in the life of the peoples studied, participation which required a prudence that was continually on the alert and the fullest cross-checking of information and impressions in both space and time."

(2) The impetus of the Dogon to reveal their "secrets":

"But the Dogon came to recognize the great perseverance of Marcel Griaule and his team in their enquiries, and that it was becoming increasingly difficult to answer the multiplicity of questions without moving on to a different level. They appreciated our eagerness for an understanding which earlier explanations had certainly not satisfied, and which was clearly more important to us than anything else. [this foregoing certainly responds to van Beek's assertions].Griaule had also shown a constant interest in the daily life of the Dogon, appreciating their efforts to exploit a difficult country where there was a serious lack of water in the dry season, and our relationships, which had thus extended beyond those of ethnographical enquiry, became more and more trusting and affectionate. In the light of all this the Dogon took their own decision, of which we learned only later when they told us themselves. The elders of the lineages of the double village of Ogol and the most important totemic priests of the region of Sanga met together and decided that the more esoteric aspects of their religion should be fully revealed to Professor Griaule. To begin this they chose one of their own best informed members, Ogotemmeli who, as will be seen in the introduction, arranged the first interview. This first exposition lasted exactly the number of days recorded in Dieu d'Eau, in which the meandering flow of information is faithfully reported. Although we knew nothing of it at the time, the progress of this instruction by Ogotemmeli was being reported on daily to the council of elders and priests."

From Germaine Dieterlen, Introduction to Conversations with Ogotemmeli, an Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas

This humble impression is indeed the exact opposite of van Beek's assertions of a "confrontational style:"

"Griaule was part of a colonial presence... in no way tried to diminish this ascribed status, but rather capitalized on it... His position of power was complemented by a strong personality, with firm convictions and clear preferences.... Dogon who worked with with him (or should one say "for" him?) still comment on his impatience... Many Dogon see him even now as a forceful personality, in a situation of undisputed power, with a clearly expressed preference for specific information and his own ways of getting it."

The respect in which Marcel Griaule was held was illustrated by his funeral, attended by the entire Dogon tribe. This huge event is cited by his supporters as an indication of Griaule's standing with the tribe and hence the validity of his work. Any people have any ideas as to what extent this might be true?

Left, Ogotemmeli, the source of Dieu d'Eau. Right, Sergeant Koguem, Griaule's interpreter for the interviews.

With the caveat that its myths are not to be found among the Dogon today, Dieu d'Eau is a vital book of explosive wisdom, as Koguem the interpreter is the reason we can take the conversations as having taken place. If Ogotemmeli was not articulating a deeply shared communal wisdom, but only extemporising from Dogon and other sources, prodded by the questioning of Griaule, he still produced a marvellous story, and Griaule wrote it up into a masterpiece.

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