Les « dit-on » et autres récits plus sérieux

From collections of fables to field surveys in the humanities and social sciences, the tales and legends of Africa have long captivated many readers, whether or not they are Westerners. On the other hand, rumors, hearsay, anecdotes and other gossip, which can shed light on the organization of a society, its imaginary world and its representations, have very often been relegated to the background. In this anthology, the anthropologist Jean-Paul Colleyn and his Malian collaborator Mingoro Sanogo have brought together some fifty stories, heard and collected in Mali between the 1980s and the first decades of the 21st century. A neologism formed by the combination of sayings and sayings, the "dit-on" are both little tales about origins and true parables of modern times, mixing fiction and autobiographical accounts. These stories paint a multi-faceted portrait of Malian society: love, married life, sexuality, as well as cults, their gods, their genies and their curses, punctuate the daily life told by these testimonies. Rather than focusing on the illustrious African court cultures, known for their griots and marabouts, this book intends to rehabilitate the less prestigious modes of orality, while showing that word of mouth remains today a source of information that is as instructive as it is tasty.

Interview with Jean-Paul Colleyn

Jean-Paul Colleyn is an anthropologist and researcher at IMAF (Institut des mondes africains). His work focuses on religious practices in Mali, possession cults in Africa, the anthropology of art, and visual anthropology.

Mingoro Sanogo is one of Jean-Paul Colleyn's closest collaborators in the field. A geomancer by training, he has introduced the anthropologist to various circles in Mali since the 1980s and was himself introduced to anthropology by the man who is now one of his closest friends.