Tradition: Dogon mythology, Mali Mythology
Alternative Names: Andumbulu
Category: Dwarf
The Myth
The Andumbulu are a mysterious people of small stature who are said to dwell among the rocks of southeastern Mali and the borderlands of Burkina Faso. They are described as little red-skinned people who live in hidden places among the rocks, remaining apart from ordinary human communities.
The Andumbulu are regarded as ancient beings who possess knowledge of the gods, cultural customs, and sacred rituals. According to Dogon tradition, they passed much of this knowledge on to the people who encountered them, giving them gifts and teachings that helped shape their way of life.
They were also credited with teaching practical skills. The Andumbulu showed people how to make bricks and construct dwellings, including houses built within hollow trees. They taught them how to prepare food, light and use cooking fires, grind flour and spices, and recognize and prepare medicinal herbs.
Dogon tradition places the Andumbulu in the landscape as a people who were already there before the ancestors of the present inhabitants arrived. They are associated particularly with the region around Sang, where they were believed to have lived before later peoples settled there. Their small size and hidden existence have sometimes led them to be compared with other traditions of mysterious small peoples found elsewhere in West Africa.
Sources
“Andumbulu.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed October 4, 2026.
https://www.bestiary.us/andumbulu