I remember learning about our culture - our long greetings ... and one of the most revered traditions of my people, the Dogon of central Mali. It has occupied my mind ever since.

The Dogon displaced the indigenous Tellem people, who had used caves and cliff ... floor of an adobe-and-stucco guesthouse owned by Mali's culture ministry, adjacent to the municipal soccer ...

There have been numerous attacks in Mali in recent months, some ethnically driven, some carried out by jihadist groups. Clashes between Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders are frequent.