The old village of Yendouma Ato is tucked away in the Bandiagara Cliff above Yendouma. Thanks to its protected position, the constructions are still intact and inhabited. Yendouma Ato has a special and important history: the Dogon of Ato are from the tribe of Arou, which is the smallest but greatest in the history of the Dogon. Two brothers founded the village with respectively two neighborhoods. The eldest brother established the neighborhood called Ogol, while the younger set up Déguédjou. Each of them created in their neighborhoods the Ginna, the family house of the Hogon. Some years later, the two brothers had respectively a boy and they founded a Ginna also for each of them. For this reason there are four major Ginna’s in Yendouma Ato. The village is still attached to its culture and they are half animists.
A restoration of the Ginna of Allaye d’Atô in the neighborhood of Ogol was done in part in 2015 by Saïdou, the son of the ancestor who founded Ogol. This is the second largest Ginna in the village. The value of this restoration is not only in its physical form, but also in the knowledge that is transferred from one generation to the other.
The lack of maintenance of the houses caused by the lack of resources, represent an obstacle for the local community, which is asking help before the fabric of their houses deteriorates further.