The Tellem people are an ancient African people who lived at the foothills of the Bandiagara Hills before the coming of the more powerful and dominant Dogon people in the 14th century. The Dogon were eventually fully ensconced in their present territory by the 18th century. It is believed that the Tellem were responsible for much of the art and culture that is now called Dogon. In fact, many anthropologists and historians like to refer to the Dogon culture as Dogon-Tellem as a way of referencing the enormous contributions that the Dogon got from the earlier people who occupied their current land.

It is believed that the Dogon originated in the Manding mountains near the borders of Equatorial Guinea and Mali. At the present time, there ...