Documentation: Dagara Cosmology – The Duality of Tingan/Tenbalu and the Elemental Wheel as an African Environmental Ethic

Archive Entry: African Foodways Heritage Archive
Primary Subject: Dagara Cosmological Knowledge
Core Framework: Earth Duality (Tingan/Tenbalu) & The Five-Element System
Primary Source: Teachings of Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé
Cultural Origin: Dagara People, Burkina Faso (West Africa)
Analysis Lens: Indigenous Environmental Philosophy & Foodways Ethic
Originally Documented: July 2016 | AFHA Compiled: January 2026

Archival Position & Citation: This entry documents Dagara cosmological concepts as conveyed through the primary scholarly and oral work of Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé. The AFHA treats this not as universal folklore but as a specific, attributed body of knowledge from a recognized cultural teacher. The popularized "birth-sign" interpretation is acknowledged as a contemporary pedagogical tool derived from this deeper system. The archive's priority is the accurate preservation of the core philosophical principles that form an indigenous environmental ethic.

Figure 1. A symbolic representation of the five elements in Dagara cosmology. Such imagery reflects the integral place of these natural forces—Earth, Water, Fire, Mineral, Nature—within a unified worldview where the physical and spiritual are inseparable.

Core Principles: The Duality of Earth and the Elemental Wheel

The Earth Principle: Tingan (Masculine)

• Nature: Governing, regulatory, protective, judicial. The "administrative" aspect of Earth.
• Analogy: Linked to Fire—consuming, transforming, enforcing boundaries.
• Social Role: Managed by the Tingan-sob (always male), a priestly figure who mediates between the community and this powerful, territorial force.
• Relationship Dynamic: One does not speak directly to Tingan; it is approached with ritual respect through a mediator. It represents law, order, and consequence.
• Environmental Expression: The unyielding aspect of land, the rules of ecology, the necessity of fire in clearing and renewal.

The Earth Principle: Tenbalu (Feminine)

• Nature: Nurturing, caring, providing, unconditional. The "topsoil" or nourishing crust of Earth.
• Analogy: The Mother who feeds all her children indiscriminately.
• Social Role: Accessible to all; anyone can invoke Tenbalu. Needs no dedicated priest.
• Relationship Dynamic: Direct, personal, and nurturing. Invocations often thank her bountifulness.
• Environmental Expression: Fertile soil, flowing water, growing plants, the provision of food and medicine.

The Five-Element System (Cosmological Wheel)

• A Holistic Framework: A model describing the components of reality and consciousness: Earth, Water, Fire, Mineral, Nature.
• Function: A map for understanding the self, community, and the universe. Each element represents a set of principles, energies, and roles.
• Integration, Not Hierarchy: The elements exist in a dynamic, interconnected relationship, often visualized as a wheel. Balance among them is key to health and harmony.
• Pedagogical Note: Contemporary workshops have created interactive tools (like associating elements with birth years) to introduce this system. These are modern interpretive gateways to the deeper, complex cosmology.

Documentation of the Five Elements & Their Principles

The following descriptions are archived based on interpretations found in popular discourses stemming from Malidoma Somé's work, which serve to illustrate the conceptual roles of each element within the Dagara cosmological model.

Earth (0, 5)

Symbolizes the mother, home, nourishment, and foundation. Represents the principle of inclusion, identity, and belonging. It is the ground of being upon which community is built.

Water (1, 6)

Embodies yielding, adaptability, and ultimate persistence. It conquers not by force but by finding a way around obstacles, symbolizing emotional depth, cleansing, and the flow of life.

Fire (2, 7)

The primal element of origin, connected to the ancestral realm, emotion, animation, and transformation. It provides warmth, vision, and acts as a connecting rod to the spirit world.

Nature (3, 8)

Signifies change, transformation, cycles (life/death), and magic. Encompasses all plants and animals. It is the library of the natural world, teaching through observation of its constant flux.

Mineral (4, 9)

The storage place of memory, story, and ancestral wisdom—located in the bones and the stones of the earth. Represents creativity, resources, and the ability to receive messages from the non-material world.

Archive Note on Numerology: The numerical associations (e.g., 2 and 7 = Fire) are documented here as a prevalent contemporary pedagogical adaptation used in workshops to make the elemental system personally accessible. They are understood within the archive as a derivative teaching tool, not as a core, ancient Dogon doctrinal formula.

Dagara Cosmology as an Operative Environmental and Foodways Ethic

From Philosophy to Practice: Governing Life and Land

The true significance of Tingan/Tenbalu and the elements is their application. They form a comprehensive ethical system:

1. Land Stewardship: The Earth is not property but a sacred, living duality. Farming is an act of engagement with Tenbalu (for nurture) and respect for Tingan (governing laws of ecology). One takes only what is needed and gives back through ritual and care.
2. Healing Practices: Illness is often viewed as an imbalance among the elements within a person or a rupture in the relationship with Tingan/Tenbalu. Healing involves rituals to restore balance and harmony.
3. Community Governance: Social order mirrors cosmic order. The Tingan-sob upholds community law and mediates disputes, reflecting Tingan's judicial role, while daily community care reflects Tenbalu's nurturing principle.
4. Food as Relationship: Food is not mere sustenance; it is a direct gift from Tenbalu. Eating is a sacred act that reaffirms one's connection to the nurturing Earth. Rituals often give thanks to Tenbalu before harvests and meals.

Figure 2. A traditional healer, a key figure in maintaining balance. Within Dagara cosmology, healers understand illness and wellness through the lens of elemental balance and right relationship with the dual forces of the Earth, using plants (Nature) and rituals (Fire, Mineral) to restore harmony.

Archival Significance and Scholar's Note

Why This Entry is Critical for the AFHA

This documentation moves beyond cataloging a "belief system" to preserve an applied philosophical framework:

• Counter-Narrative to Extraction: It archives a worldview where the Earth is sacred and relational, providing a crucial alternative to extractive, colonial models of land use.
• Food Sovereignty Rooted in Cosmology: It shows that sustainable food practices are not just techniques but are derived from a deep cosmological understanding of reciprocity with Tenbalu.
Model of Holistic Knowledge: It demonstrates how cosmology, ecology, medicine, and social structure are inseparably linked—a holistic approach increasingly valued in global discussions on sustainability and well-being.
• Attribution and Integrity: By centering Malidoma Somé's work and clearly labeling adaptations, the archive maintains scholarly integrity and respects the lineage of this knowledge.

Note on Interpretation and Evolution

The AFHA acknowledges that indigenous knowledge systems are living and dynamic. The presentation of Dagara cosmology here, particularly the popularized elemental "signs," represents a specific moment in its transmission and interpretation in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The archive's goal is to create a faithful record of this knowledge as it was engaged with publicly during this period, with clear markers distinguishing core principles from contemporary teaching tools.

---

This entry forms part of the African Foodways Heritage Archive's documentation of indigenous epistemic systems. Dagara cosmology, through the duality of Tingan and Tenbalu and the wheel of elements, is preserved here as a sophisticated African environmental philosophy. It is a system where food, health, community, and spirit are governed by the same principles of balance, relationship, and deep respect for a living Earth. By archiving it with precision and context, the AFHA secures not just concepts, but a viable ethical roadmap for harmonious existence, contributed by the Dagara people to the world's repository of wisdom.

The Rice Shock: Liberia’s 1979 Staple Price Collapse

Food Systems Under Constraint: Liberia’s 1979 Staple Price Collapse

AFHA Entry ID: AFHA-RICE-1979-LBR
Classification:Food Systems Under Constraint → Staple Price Shock
Status: Verified System Record (Closed)

Archival Context

In Liberia, rice is not merely food—it is the primary urban calorie and a political stabilizer.

By 1979, Liberia’s food system had become structurally dependent on imported rice. Substitution foods—cassava, plantain, millet—had been culturally and economically displaced in urban centers.

Food System Architecture (Pre-Shock)

• Staple Dependence: Rice constituted the dominant daily calorie intake.
• Import Reliance: Domestic rice production lagged behind demand.
• Urban Vulnerability: Monrovia households purchased—not grew—food.
• State Price Control: Government policy directly set rice affordability.

The Price Shock Event

In April 1979, the Liberian government approved a sharp increase in the price of a 100-pound bag of rice—from approximately $22 to as high as $30.

For households surviving on less than one U.S. dollar per day, this represented an immediate caloric crisis.

System Failure Cascade

• Immediate food inaccessibility for urban households
• Absence of affordable substitute staples
• Rapid mass mobilization driven by hunger, not ideology
• State security response to a food-triggered crowd

The result was lethal. Dozens were killed and hundreds injured within hours. AFHA records this outcome not as a riot, but as the terminal expression of a failed food system.

Like the rationed meals at Luzira Prison, Liberia’s rice crisis shows how control over staple calories becomes control over bodies when alternatives are structurally removed.

Aftermath and Structural Persistence

The price increase was reversed. Officials were removed. Yet Liberia’s underlying food architecture did not change.

Rice remained politically untouchable, imports continued, and urban dependency deepened—setting conditions for future instability.

This crisis shows how food policy shapes hunger and power. It is part of a broader archive on African food systems and survival. Explore the African Gourmet Foodways Archive →

AFHA Archival Note

AFHA does not archive protest movements. This entry is preserved as a record of how food price policy can function as a trigger for mass mortality in mono-staple economies.

---

The African Gourmet Foodways Archive

Food systems fail long before crowds move.