Germaine Dieterlen (15 May 1903 in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
– 13 November 1999 in Paris) was a French
anthropologist.
She was a student of
Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and ...
, worked with noted French anthropologists
Marcel Griaule (1898-1956) and
Jean Rouch, wrote on a large range of
ethnographic topics and made pioneering contributions to the study of
myths,
initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...
s, techniques (particularly "
descriptive ethnography"), graphic systems, objects, classifications,
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
and
social structure.
She is most noted for her work among the
Dogon and the
Bambara of
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
, having lived with them for over twenty years, often in collaboration with
Marcel Griaule, with whom she wrote the book The Pale Fox (1965).
Themes
Some of the main themes in her work concentrate on the notions of
sacred kingship, the position of the
first born, relationships between maternal uncles and nephews,
division of labor,
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, and the status of the
rainmaker in Dogon society. Because each episode of the rite is enacted only once every sixty years, Dieterlen's documentation of the
Sigui cycle was thought to allow the Dogon themselves to see and interpret the entire sequence of rites which they had heretofore only observed in part.
Research
Dieterlen began her ethnographic research in
Bandiagara,
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
, in 1941. Perhaps most controversially, Dieterlen was criticized by her peers for her publications with Griaule on Dogon
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, which professed an ancient knowledge of the existence of a dwarf
white star,
Sirius B
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...
also called the Dog Star, invisible to the naked eye. This ancient
indigenous knowledge (the
Nommo) and the supposition that extraterrestrials might have been in contact with the Dogon was popularized by Robert K. G. Temple in his book ''
The Sirius Mystery'' (1976) and
Tom Robbins ''Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas'' (1995).
Skeptic and space journalist
James Oberg
James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. O ...
in his investigation of the Dogon mystery in 1982 could neither support nor disprove Griaules questionable stories about Dogon astronomy. Dutch anthropologist
W.E.A. van Beek, who spent seven years with the Dogon, could not reproduce Griaule's and Dieterlen's findings in the field. He seriously critiqued the research methods of Griaule and Dieterlen and explained their results (''Dogon Restudied'' 1991).
Daughter and colleague of Marcel Griaule
Geneviève Calame-Griaule defended her father, dismissing van Beek's criticism.
Academic career
Dieterlen also served as a Director of Studies at ''Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes'' at the
Sorbonne in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, was a founding member of the ''
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (CNRS), and a President of the Committee on Ethnographic Film (founded by
Jean Rouch, with whom she worked and made important
ethnographic films). An "hommage" collection published in 1978 (''Systèmes de signes: Textes réunis en hommage à Germaine Dieterlen'') included essays by
Meyer Fortes and
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss (, ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair of Social Anthr ...
. Dieterlen also worked with other noted
ethnographic filmmakers like
Marcel Griaule.
Mary Douglas reviewed the contributions made by Dieterlen to French anthropology in ''Dogon Culture - Profane and Arcane'' (1968) and ''If the Dogon . . .'' (1975). The Dogon gave Germaine Dieterlene the name of ''Madame l'Éternelle'' (The Eternal Lady) in memory of the work she did together with
Marcel Griaule.
Philippe Costantini
at www.imdb.com in his film
Jean Rouch et Germaine Dieterlen - L'Avenir du souvenir
' at www.film-documentaire.fr.
See also
*Dogon people
The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. They speak the Dogon ...
* Marcel Griaule
*Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and ...
References
External links
Obituary
at ufoinfo.com
Book review in ''Revue de l'histoire des religions'', Année 1952 141-1 pp. 110–119.
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwyFKTxhYBI On the Pale Fox, trail part 1 of 5 tracks of the Pale Fox in divination plots, 16 mrt. 2012 www.youtube.com, from film series about the Dogon myth of the Earth creation (extract).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieterlen, Germaine
French anthropologists
1903 births
1999 deaths
French women anthropologists
20th-century anthropologists
University of Paris faculty
Writers on Dogon religion
20th-century French women scientists