protection
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preservationThe Place
The beauty of Dogon earthen architecture, which is set against the steep cliffs of Mali’s Bandiagara escarpment, forms a dramatic backdrop for daily and ritual life. Centuries ago the setting for Dogon villages provided strategic advantages. Located high above the plains, traditional Dogon villages were well positioned in case of attack, as advancing enemies could be seen from a distance. Steep gorges and loose rock made it hard to get to the villages at the top of the plateau. Caves within the cliffs provided additional shelter.
Family homes are typically composed of a cluster of earthen, thatched-roof dwellings. Men and women keep separate granaries, which are small storage buildings grouped in clusters. Generally, a woman’s granary is where she keeps jewelry and other personal belongings, while a man’s granary stores the family’s millet and sorghum. Other buildings might include family homes, a ginna (a large house for the head of an extended family), or a special women’s house. The Togu Na, a meeting place for male elders, is an open structure with an extremely low roof. The low roof is said to serve a practical function, as no one can easily jump to his feet to fight should conversation turn to argument.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
"Dini Funeral (Finale)" by Dogon funeral orchestra from the recording entitled Music of Mali, FW04338, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 1966. Used by permission.
Built environment into sandstone cliffs, near Sangha, Mali
Dogon Settlement at the Top of The Bandiagara Escarpment, Ireli, Mali
Dogon Settlement Along The Bandiagara Escarpment, Ireli, Mali
Steep-walled gorges in the Bandiagara escarpment, accessible only by foot, Ireli, Mali
Photographer: Eliot Elisofon
1970
All images National Museum of African Art
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives
Smithsonian Institution
The Masks
Masquerades continue to be a dramatic feature of Dogon cultural and artistic expression. They are performed for funeral rituals that lead the soul of the deceased to the world of the ancestors and for celebrations that mark the end of mourning. One important festival involving masks takes place every 60 years. Masquerades are also a popular form of entertainment for the increasing numbers of tourists who visit the Dogon region each year.
In Dogon masquerades, the great plank masks called sirige seemingly reach for the heavens, their tall superstructures bridging earth and sky. The crossbar elements of kanaga masks may reflect the opposing, yet connected, domains of sky and earth. In performance, the dancers swing the mask in a figure 8, touching the tip of the mask to the earth in the four cardinal directions.
More than 70 different styles of Dogon masks represent animal, human, and abstract characters. The “Fulbe Woman,” for example, depicted by a special hairstyle, represents a woman from a neighboring group to suggest Dogon ideas about social interaction.
In these images, taken by former Life magazine photographer Eliot Elisofon, we see the carving of a kanaga mask and how mask-making skills are learned through apprenticeship, usually passed down from father to son.
Photographer: Eliot Elisofon
1970
All images National Museum of African Art
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives
Smithsonian Institution
EENG-IV-23_09, EENG-IV-21_10, EENG-IV-21_11, EENG-IV-21_14, EENG-IV-21_22, EENG-IV-21_12A, EENG-IV-23_32, EENG-IV-24_104A, EENG-IV-24_13A, EENG-IV-24_23A, EENG-IV-25_08, EENG-IV-25_07, EENG-IV-25_22, EENG-IV-25_13, EENG-IV-21_11A, EENG-IV-26_13A, EENG-IV-26_14A, EENG-IV-26_18A, Eepa_06836, Eepa_06838, Eepa_06840, Eepa_06842, Eepa_06867, Eepa_06868, Eepa_06870, Eepa_06869, Eepa_06865
Fiber mask (bede)
Dogon peoples
Fiber, cowrie shells, plastic beads, metal, cloth, 1968
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
Face mask
Dogon peoples
Wood, pigment, paint
mid-late 20th century
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
Martha de Jong-Lantinki (Fotopedia)/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Flickr
The Stories
Figure of a Dog
Dogon Peoples
Wood, encrustation
Early-mid 20th century
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
This carving likely depicts a dog. According to oral history, when the Dogon first came to the Bandiagara cliffs, they found the Tellem peoples, who hid the locations of water holes and wells from the Dogon. When a dog came into camp with wet paws, the Dogon were able to find the water, defeat the Tellem, and inhabit the cliffs, where they have remained ever since.
Female Figure
Dogon Peoples
Wood, encrustation
19th to early 20th century
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
This figure has many faces looking in all directions, as a family or a community might. It may refer to the Dogon myth of the Nommo, the first beings who descended to the earth from their celestial domain.
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