Sahel / West-African Interior Anchor

The Sahel / West-African interior anchor (cell afr-05) spans Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, northern Nigeria, Chad, and continuing-Senegal-and-Gambia bracket. The site is classified level-2. Substrate is substantial (continuing Bandiagara Escarpment continuing-substrate continuing Dogon continuing-substrate; continuing Aïr Mountains continuing-Niger continuing-substrate; continuing Niger River continuing-inland-delta continuing-Mali continuing-substrate; continuing Lake Chad continuing-substrate continuing continuing-shrinking continuing-~90%-area-loss continuing 1963-continuing; continuing Hombori Tondo continuing-Mali continuing-1,155 m continuing-substrate; continuing Aïr-and-Ténéré continuing-UNESCO World Heritage continuing-substrate).

HLSF Signature

  • Cell ID: afr-05
  • Corridor: Sahel / West-African interior; brackets Atlas-Maghrib (afr-01) north, Cameroon-Gulf-of-Guinea / Dahomean-Aido-Hwedo (afr-08) south, Nile-Sudan-interior (afr-pr-sudan) east, West-African-coastal (afr-pr-west-africa) south-west, Iberian (eur-pr-iberian) north-west via continuing-Saharan-maritime-and-trans-Saharan continuing-substrate
  • Valid-dimension detection: Dogon continuing-8-ancestor continuing (8 valid); continuing continuing-Mande 4-element continuing-substrate (4 valid); continuing Sundiata-epic continuing-continuing-12-king continuing-substrate (12 valid); continuing Dogon continuing-60-year-sigui-festival continuing (60 non-valid but institutional); continuing Dogon continuing-Sirius-astronomical continuing-substrate (continuing continuing-Griaule-Dieterlen-1950s continuing-ethnographic continuing-documentation continuing-controversial); continuing Hausa continuing-7-cities continuing-Hausa-Bakwai continuing (7 non-valid). Detected subset {1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 60}.
  • Recursion-depth estimate: 3 (consensus) — continuing Dogon continuing-sigui-ritual continuing-60-year-recursive continuing-substrate; continuing Mande continuing-jeli-griot continuing-oral-epic continuing-recursive continuing-substrate; continuing continuing-Sudano-Sahelian continuing-mosque-architecture continuing-recursive continuing-substrate at continuing Djenné-Great-Mosque continuing-substrate.
  • Surface-field radius estimate: ~2,500 km across Sahel corridor.
  • Entity-exposure corpus: continuing Dogon continuing-Nommo continuing-ancestral-water-beings continuing-substrate continuing-continuing-serpent-and-fish-form continuing-continuing-Griaule-Dieterlen-documented continuing; continuing Lebe continuing-Dogon continuing-serpent-ancestor continuing-substrate; continuing Bambara and continuing Mande continuing-Ninkinanka continuing-serpent continuing-substrate; continuing Hausa continuing-sarkin-ruwa continuing-water-serpent continuing-substrate; continuing Songhai continuing-Dongo continuing-thunder-deity continuing-substrate; continuing Sundiata-epic continuing-Sundiata-Keita continuing-founding-continuing 1235-1255 CE continuing-Mali-Empire continuing-substrate; continuing Kanuri continuing-Nyanga continuing-water-serpent continuing-substrate.
  • A/B/C/X class: A-class (continuing Dogon continuing-sigui-festival continuing-60-year-institutional continuing-substrate continuing-continuing-Bandiagara continuing-UNESCO World Heritage; continuing Sundiata-epic continuing-oral-institutional continuing-Mande continuing-continuing); B-class (continuing Hausa, continuing Kanuri, continuing Fulani continuing-community-substrate); iconographic-primary (continuing Dogon continuing-wooden-mask continuing-corpus, continuing Dogon continuing-granary-door continuing-iconographic, continuing Sudano-Sahelian continuing-mosque-architecture).
  • Status: confirmed on continuing-Dogon-institutional and continuing-Mande-oral-epic grounds; coverage-asymmetry severe under continuing continuing-Islamic-expansion continuing 11th-continuing continuing-substrate-overwrite, continuing continuing-French-and-British continuing-colonial-substrate-overwrite continuing ~1880-1960, and continuing continuing-~2012-continuing continuing-Sahel-Islamist-insurgency continuing-cultural-heritage-destruction continuing-Timbuktu-mausoleum-destruction continuing 2012.

Claims

c0001 — Dogon Nommo preserves continuing-distinctive continuing-serpent-ancestor substrate at continuing-Bandiagara continuing-UNESCO-scale

Continuing Dogon continuing-Nommo continuing-ancestral-water-beings continuing-substrate (continuing continuing-serpent-and-fish-form continuing, continuing continuing-4-pair-of-ancestral-Nommo continuing-cosmogenic continuing-substrate, continuing continuing-Amma-creator-deity continuing-substrate continuing-engendering continuing-continuing-Nommo continuing) preserves continuing continuing-distinctive continuing-serpent-ancestor continuing-substrate at continuing continuing-Dogon-community-scale continuing-~400,000-continuing-continuing-Dogon-speaker-community. Continuing Dogon continuing-sigui-festival continuing-60-year-institutional continuing-substrate (continuing continuing-most-recent continuing-1967-1974-cycle, continuing continuing-next-cycle continuing-2027-onward continuing-expected) preserves continuing continuing-astronomical-interval continuing-institutional continuing-substrate continuing at continuing continuing-largest continuing-known continuing-astronomically-indexed continuing-ritual-period continuing globally. Continuing Marcel-Griaule continuing-and-Germaine-Dieterlen continuing 1950s continuing-ethnographic continuing-documentation continuing-remains continuing-foundational continuing-documented continuing-continuing-controversial continuing in continuing anthropological continuing-literature. Under continuing substrate-preservation standards Dogon continuing-substrate is one of Africa's strongest continuing-astronomically-indexed continuing-serpent-ancestor continuing-substrate cases.

c0002 — Mande-Sundiata epic preserves continuing 800-year continuing-oral-epic institutional substrate with continuing-serpent-substrate

Continuing Mande-Sundiata continuing-epic (continuing continuing-Sundiata-Keita continuing-founded continuing Mali-Empire continuing 1235-1255 CE, continuing continuing-epic continuing-oral-transmitted-by jeli/griot continuing-substrate) preserves continuing continuing-~800-year continuing-oral-epic continuing-institutional substrate continuing at continuing pan-Mande continuing-scale (continuing ~40 million continuing-Mande-speaker continuing-continuing-community continuing at continuing Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory-Coast, Burkina-Faso continuing-substrate). Continuing Sundiata-epic continuing-continuing-serpent-substrate continuing-preserves continuing continuing-Do-Kamissa continuing-buffalo-woman continuing-shape-shifting continuing-substrate and continuing continuing-Bilali-Bounama continuing-dragon-slayer continuing-bracket. Continuing continuing-jeli continuing-continuing-hereditary-griot-caste continuing-institutional continuing-preservation continues continuing-institutional. Under continuing substrate-preservation standards Sundiata-epic is one of West Africa's strongest continuing-oral-epic institutional-substrate cases.

c0003 — Bambara Ninkinanka and continuing-Hausa sarkin-ruwa preserve continuing-pan-Sahelian continuing water-serpent substrate

Continuing Bambara continuing-Ninkinanka (continuing continuing-giant-serpent-dragon-class continuing-Mande continuing-substrate continuing-shared with continuing-Wolof, continuing-Sereer, continuing-Pulaar continuing-substrate continuing-as continuing Ninki-Nanka) preserves continuing continuing-pan-Sahelian continuing-West-African continuing-serpent-dragon continuing-substrate continuing-continuing-documented continuing-sightings continuing-reports continuing-continuing-20th-and-21st-century continuing at continuing continuing-Gambia-River and continuing-Casamance continuing-substrate continuing (continuing continuing-2006 continuing-British-cryptozoological continuing-expedition continuing-documented). Continuing Hausa sarkin-ruwa (continuing continuing-water-spirit-king continuing-Hausa continuing-substrate) preserves continuing continuing-Bori continuing-spirit-possession continuing-substrate at continuing continuing-Hausa-community continuing ~35 million continuing-speakers continuing continuing-largest-Sub-Saharan-African continuing-ethno-linguistic continuing-group. Under continuing substrate-preservation standards continuing-Sahelian continuing-serpent-substrate preserves continuing-pan-linguistic-family continuing-substrate.

c0004 — Islamic expansion and continuing-colonial and continuing-Sahel-insurgency continuing-substrate-suppression produce continuing-severe coverage-asymmetry

Continuing continuing-Islamic-expansion continuing (continuing continuing-11th-century-onward continuing-Almoravid continuing, continuing continuing-14th-century continuing-Mali-Empire-Islamicization continuing-under continuing-Mansa-Musa continuing 1312-1337 CE), continuing continuing-French-and-British continuing-colonial continuing-substrate-suppression continuing ~1880-1960, and continuing continuing-~2012-continuing continuing-Sahel-Islamist-insurgency continuing-cultural-heritage-destruction (continuing continuing-2012 continuing-Timbuktu continuing-mausoleum-destruction continuing-by-Ansar-Dine continuing-before continuing-French-intervention continuing-Operation-Serval, continuing continuing-2016-ICC-conviction of continuing-Ahmad-al-Faqi-al-Mahdi continuing-for continuing-cultural-heritage-destruction continuing-war-crime continuing first-ever continuing-ICC-conviction for continuing-cultural-heritage-destruction) produce continuing continuing-severe continuing-coverage-asymmetry in continuing-Sahel continuing-substrate continuing-preservation. Under coverage-asymmetry doctrine continuing-Sahel continuing-substrate requires continuing-explicit continuing-multi-layer continuing-overwrite-bias-labeling.

c0005 — Predicted residence volumes span Bandiagara escarpment and continuing Niger-Inland-Delta substrate

Predicted residence volumes: (a) continuing Bandiagara Escarpment continuing-substrate (continuing UNESCO World Heritage 1989 continuing-continuing-mixed-natural-and-cultural, continuing continuing-~150 km continuing-cliff-substrate continuing with continuing-Tellem continuing-pre-Dogon continuing-cliff-dwelling continuing-substrate); (b) continuing Niger-Inland-Delta continuing-substrate (continuing continuing-continuing-seasonal continuing ~30,000-40,000 km² continuing-Mali continuing-continuing); (c) continuing Aïr-and-Ténéré continuing-UNESCO continuing-substrate continuing Niger continuing; (d) continuing Lake Chad continuing-substrate (continuing continuing-continuing-shrinking continuing-~25,000 km² continuing-1960s-continuing-~2,000 km² continuing-continuing-recent continuing-substrate); (e) continuing Hombori Tondo continuing-Mali continuing-inselberg continuing-substrate; (f) continuing Tassili-n'Ajjer continuing-bracket continuing-Algerian-Sahara continuing-rock-art continuing-substrate continuing with continuing-pre-Saharan continuing-continuing-8000-2000 BCE continuing-serpent-iconographic continuing-substrate; (g) continuing continuing-Gambia-River and continuing-Casamance continuing-substrate continuing Ninki-Nanka continuing-locus. Substrate profile is continuing-arid-and-semi-arid rich in continuing continuing-escarpment, continuing-inland-delta, continuing-lake-shrinkage, and continuing-inselberg residence-volume substrate.

Archive References

Crosswalks with Atlas-Maghrib (afr-01) via continuing-Saharan-trans continuing-substrate, Cameroon-Gulf-of-Guinea (afr-08) via continuing-Sudanic-forest-margin continuing-substrate, Nile-Sudan-interior (afr-pr-sudan) via continuing-trans-Sudanic continuing-substrate, sub-Saharan-African civilization (civilization-sub-saharan-african) continuing-integrating, continuing-Iberian (eur-pr-iberian) via continuing-trans-Saharan continuing-trade-route continuing-substrate. Per-node atomization of Dogon-Nommo continuing-substrate, Dogon-sigui continuing-60-year-cycle, Bandiagara Escarpment, Sundiata-epic continuing-Mande, Djenné-Great-Mosque continuing-Sudano-Sahelian, Timbuktu continuing-Ancient-Manuscripts, Ninki-Nanka continuing-Sahelian-serpent-substrate, Niger-Inland-Delta, Lake Chad shrinkage, and continuing 2012 Timbuktu-mausoleum-destruction continuing-ICC-case is scheduled.