Art of Africa (Dogon tribe)
I always found it fascinating to explore African Art, especially the symbols, masks, and sculptures, and understand their meanings. What intrigues me the most is how some African tribes have preserved their traditions for many decades. A visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, particularly the Art of Africa section, left me in awe of the Dogon people. They organize religious and social events to connect with ancestral spirits and balance good and evil forces in their community. The tight web of connections between mythological and cosmological aspects, particularly in masks and sculptures used in funerary rituals, caught my attention.
After reading Kate Ezra’s article on the Dogon people in Mali, I learned about the significance of masks in their ceremonies. Marcel Griaule, the first to record Dogon mask commentaries, highlighted the masks’ role in bringing ancestors to life, whether human, animal, or vegetal. Three types of masks, Kanaga, amma ta, and sirige, symbolize stages of cosmogony and events from the universe’s beginning. These masks represent the movements impressed upon the stellar universe by the creator, God Amma.
For instance, the Kanaga mask, like the one at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is worn during collective funerary rites. It signifies the movement imposed on the universe by Amma and aims to ensure a safe journey for ancestral spirits to the other world.
The Dogon wooden masks, such as the Kanaga, often depict faces in a rectangular shape with deep eye holes. The structure above the face, a double-barred cross, symbolizes the sky and earth’s arrangement, representing a bird and the creative force of God.
Religious sculptures, like the kneeling mother with a child, are important to the Dogon people. Commissioned by patrons seeking blessings for children, these figures express prayers and are placed on altars.
The Seated Couple statue, created for influential men’s funerals, showcases symbolic details, like the man’s arm around the woman, representing nurturing and fertility. Despite their similarities, these figures highlight the nuanced aspects of male and female roles.
Masks like the Samana represent neighboring ethnic groups, depicting warlike and aggressive behavior. The Samana mask has a special role in the dama ceremony’s masked dances, portraying a fight or battle with an imaginary enemy.
Dogon artists depict many human characters in their masks, such as priests, young and old people, craft specialists, hunters, etc. Most of these characters are made of cloth and fiber, just a few human characters are portrayed in wood.
The Dogon tribe and African Art remind me of the importance of respecting diverse cultural perspectives and how everything in life is connected. Their art pieces — like sculptures, masks, and paintings — tell stories about nature, people, and spirits living together in harmony. Through these artworks, we learn about the importance of community, respecting the earth, and the lessons passed from our ancestors.
