Tellem

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tellem were the people who inhabited the Bandiagara Escarpment. The Dogon people migrated to the escarpment region around the 14th century. The Tellem were pygmies or "small red people" who built dwellings around the base of the escarpment as well as directly into the cliff-face. Many of these structures are still visible in the area. Some Tellem buildings- most notably the granaries- are still in use by the Dogon, although generally Dogon villages are at the bottom or top of the escarpment, where water gathers and farming is possible.

The Tellem people have disappeared from the area either by assimilation into the Dogon culture or some-other unknown reason.