Ogotemmeli

A lot of what is known about the Dogon religion, cosmogony and symbolism came from Griaule's work, which in turn came from Ogotemmeli—who taught it to him.

[3][4][5] Ogotommeli was blind since his youth as a result of his gun accidentally exploding in his face during a hunting expedition.

[2] Those conversations with Ogotemmeli resulted in Griaule's most famous work—a diary of religious instructions by the high priest titled Dieu D'eau or Conversations With Ogotemmeli (Griaule, M., Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas (contribution: Dieterlen, Germaine, International African Institute), International African Institute (1965), ISBN 9780195198218 (Originally published in 1948 as Dieu d'Eau)), and a finished anthropological report on the Dogon religion titled Le Renard Pale or The Pale Fox.

[2][3] Griaule's work has been criticised by scholars over the years as being "too idealistic at the expense of historical dynamism.

"[2] In anthropology, Ogotemmeli has become a well known name, to the extent that "it epitomizes 'the informant', the person who describes phenomena and traits of his/her own culture, making them understandable to the researcher.