Marcel Griaule facts for kids
Marcel Griaule (born May 16, 1898 – died February 23, 1956) was a French writer and anthropologist. An anthropologist is someone who studies human societies and cultures. Griaule was famous for his work with the Dogon of West Africa. He was also a pioneer in doing field studies in France.
He worked with other important researchers like Germaine Dieterlen and Jean Rouch. Together, they studied different African cultures. Marcel Griaule wrote over 170 books and articles for academic journals.
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Marcel Griaule's Life Story
Marcel Griaule was born in Aisy-sur-Armançon, France. He got a good education and planned to become an engineer. In 1917, near the end of World War I, he joined the French Air Force as a pilot.
Early Studies and Anthropology
After the war, in 1920, Griaule went back to university. He attended lectures by famous thinkers like Marcel Mauss. He became very interested in anthropology and decided to change his career path. In 1927, he earned a degree from the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales. He focused on learning Amharic and Ge'ez, which are languages from Ethiopia.
Expeditions to Africa
Between 1928 and 1933, Griaule took part in two big trips to study different cultures. One trip was to Ethiopia. The other was a very ambitious journey from Dakar in West Africa all the way to Djibouti in East Africa. This trip crossed the entire continent.
During the Dakar-Djibouti expedition, he first met the Dogon. This ethnic group would become the main focus of his life's work. In 1933, he also received a diploma in religion studies.
Studying the Dogon People
Throughout the 1930s, Griaule and his student Germaine Dieterlen led several trips to the Dogon area in Mali. On these trips, Griaule started using new methods to study cultures. He used aerial photography (pictures from planes), surveying (mapping the land), and teamwork. In 1938, he earned his doctorate degree based on his research about the Dogon.
Later Life and Legacy
When World War II started, Griaule joined the French Air Force again. After the war, he became the first professor of anthropology at the University of Paris - Sorbonne. He passed away in Paris in 1956.
Griaule is well-known for his work with a blind Dogon hunter named Ogotemmeli. He wrote detailed explanations of Dogon myths, including stories about beings called the Nommo. His study of Dogon masks is also very important.
However, some other anthropologists have criticized his work. They argue that some of his claims, like those about the Dogon knowing about the star Sirius or complex ideas about "cosmic eggs," might not truly reflect what the Dogon people believed.
Marcel Griaule's daughter, Geneviève Calame-Griaule, also became an anthropologist.
Books by Marcel Griaule
Here are some of the books Marcel Griaule wrote:
- Burners of men: Modern Ethiopia. (1935) - This book tells the story of a trip into Ethiopia in the 1930s.
- Abyssinian Journey. (1935) - Another travel book about his studies in Ethiopia.
- Masques dogons (Dogon Masks), Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938
- Jeux dogons (Dogon Games), Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938
- Folk art of black Africa, 1950.
- Conversations with Ogotemmeli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas. (1965) - This famous book was first published in 1948 as Dieu d'Eau (God of Water). ISBN: 0-19-519821-2
- with Germaine Dieterlen: The Pale Fox, originally published as Le Renard Pâle, Institut d'Ethnologie, 1965.
See also
In Spanish: Marcel Griaule para niños
- Dogon people
- Germaine Dieterlen
- Jean Rouch
