Dogon Mask

Dogon Mask
Map & Environment
•
The Dogon people live along
the Bandiagara escarpment,
a 200- kilometer cliff face in
Mali. The reason they live in
this relatively inaccessible
and difficult environment
was to defend themselves
against other more and
powerful groups that entered
their territory, and tried to
take their people into
slavery. These hardships
can be seen in many of the
pieces produced by Dogon
artists.
Materials and Description.
But What Does That Mean?
• All African masks take certain forms, whether
human (man/woman), animal or composite. In
looking at this mask the viewer can strongly
agree that it resembles the form of a human
head. This can be seen in its shape, and its
design. In my opinion the mask looks as if it
depicts a woman’s head with its somewhat
smooth and clean design, as well as the long
locks that are hanging from the top of the mask
and flow far past the bottom of it. The form and
identity of the mask can also be a great hint as
to what the masks use is.
Culture.
•
•
Cultural Identification: This mask
is an African mask coming from
the Dogon tribes of Mali. The mask
itself does not represent the Dogon
people, but is a representation of
another tribe instead, the Fulani.
The reason the Dogon use this
mask is to mock the Fulani woman.
The Dogon and the Fulani are
enemies, due to them inhabiting a
vast amount of the Dogon land,
and them forcing the Dogon
people out of their own.
Uses and Ideas
• The immense beauty of the Fulani woman is
widely known through out West Africa but is
the subject of mockery behind this mask.
• It is used by male Dogon masqueraders
during funerary activities.
Atypical for a Dogon
Pictures
Bibliography
•
Dogon Dama. <http://www.incredible@rtdepartment>.
•
Hollyman, Stephenie, and Walter E. VanBeek. Dogon : Africa's
People of the Cliffs. Danbury: Harry N. Abrams , Incorporated, 2001.
•
Rebirth African life on the continent. 2000.
<http://www.rebirth.co.za/dogon/mask_history.htm>.
•
RoyWashington. National Museum of African Art. African Art in the
Cycle of Life. [By] Roy Sieber and Roslyn Adele Walker. Sept. 1987March 1988
•
Finley, Carol. The Art of African Masks : Exploring Cultural
.
Traditions. New York: Lerner Group, 1998. 7-62