Dan Nan Ambassagou, un mouvement d’autodéfense armé en pays dogon

“Our aim is to create a climate of peace and freedom in our towns and villages. This goes against the birth of a jihadist movement that advocates the obligation to respect another form of Islam. We say no to this and we want our parents who reside in our villages to have the freedom to practice, if they wish, the religion of their ancestors.” The Dan Nan Ambassagou spokesman made this statement to the media in July 2017, commenting on the creation of an armed self-defense movement led by Y. Toloba. The analysis of this armed mobilization needs to take into account factors such as the emancipation of the social cadets (Bayart 1979) from the established elites, violence for agricultural and pastoral land, and the progressive transformation of a “terroir historique” into a political entity. This article describes the mobilization of armed self-defense movements and insecurity in the Dogon territory in central Mali.