Near the village of Bamba in Dogon country of Mali Africa, you will find a sacred lake where fishing is permitted only once per year. This occurs during the 6 month of the dry season in May, however a group of wise men decide the exact date annually. This celebrated day is known as Antogo. The lake is considered scared and populated with good spirits. It has always provided fish for the locals to eat, however the lake sadly becoming victim to desertification. The celebrated lake attracts hundred of people from all over Mali's Bamba Lake. During the event, large groups of people maintain a collective mystical silence, except for wise men who recite incantations and praise to deities. Then the chaos begins while the men dash into the lake to catch as much fish as they can. The lake is a rarity in a country which is primarily the Sahara desert and the dry steppes of Sahel, which makes this lake even more important and sacred. The ritual is based on ancesetor worship along with Dogon culture rituals. Women are forbidden to participate.
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