Menstruation hut (punulu) :

     The menstruation hut is situated on the edge of the village. Women having their periods are considered impure. This is where they sleep and have their meals during their socalled "state of impurity". It is a temporary way of exclusion from village life. These dwellings are circular in design. In "Villages perchés des Dogon du Mali - page 157", this round form makes J.C. Huet think of a confined enclosure like a pen separating women from the rest of the village. To back up his argument, he gives the example of the menstruation hut in Arou which is a circular enclosure without roof. The outside walls are often decorated with symbols of fecundity, for example, individuals with oversized sexual organs.

see :

• J.C.Huet " Villages perchés des Dogon du Mali - page 157 "