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The Republic of Mali in Western Africa got its name in memory of the great Sudanese Empire of Mali that flourished in the area from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Today, the capital and symbol of modern Mali is Bamako. The city lies on the banks of the Niger River, which influences the life of Mali’s population more than anything else. It is the artery of the country and its heart pulsates in its inner delta, in the space between Sana and Timbuktu.
Many cultures interweave in Mali and its markets swarm with diversity as nowhere else in Africa. The crown of travelling through Mali is meeting the people from the Sahara desert: the Tuaregs, Maurs, and cattle breeders: the Songhai, the Bambarama, the Senufo and the ancient Dogons who live in a singular and altogether different world. |
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The Dogons live in the southeast of Mali, in the region of Mopti, and their origin has different versions. Archeologists believe that they arrived from the Sahara in search of a new homeland, and in the 15th century settled in the region of the Bandiagara cliffs. They are known by their rich mythology, customs, ceremonies in which they wear masks and a way of life that doesn’t differ much from life in a primitive society. In accord with an explicit need for freedom, and in spite of the increasing influence of Islam and Europe on Africa and the region, the Dogons have succeeded in preserving their traditions, rituals and perception of life. The traditional way of life of the Dogons is closely related to their mythology and nature. According to them, man is part of one complicated concept connected with the cosmos, and the essential parts of Dogon mythology are life and death, earth and water and, above all, fertility. |
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The art of the peoples of West Africa is closely connected to their religion and mythology. In order to understand the symbolic aspects of their artifacts one must understand their beliefs and that which governs their lives.
Handiworks made from wood and metal, like jewelry and masks, as well as art forms like dance, music and poetry are all art forms with a definite purpose. Over time these art forms have changed their original symbolism, but these artistic forms are still related to tradition and religion whose roots date far back into the past.
Dance has always occupied a special place in black Africa. Its special place among other forms of art can be seen in many images depicting masked dancers, such as on carved rocks in the Sahara Desert. |
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The first scenes of African tribes’ ritual dances reveal an obvious mixture of fear and fascination, supposedly characterized by "freedom" of movement and "animal sexuality".
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This superficial and culturally biased-description of an instinctive and spontaneous dance form is actually an expression of dance based on magic and mythology and is performed in harmony with ceremonial rites. The majority of dances is associated with a special cause and is performed only on special occasions: for the change of seasons, before seeding, after harvest, at a child’s birth, at weddings and funerals.
Dance used to mark departure to war, a celebration of victory, mourning for the killed or hailing a new ruler’s ascension to the throne. Dance had an important meaning to the individual as a way of representing a community that granted security. As long as one was a member of the community, one also shared in the energy and power of the group. |
A break with the community meant symbolic and sometimes actual death. In this way, an individual became aware of the importance of living in the community.
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It is thought that dance is a religious ceremony in which an individual can relate with deities and spirits, and for such dances masks are important requisites. Among the peoples of Western Africa there are still "societies of masks" that perform in public and also in strict secrecy. Women don’t participate in such rituals and they don’t even watch them. Masks differ widely in theme; there are animal masks, masks depicting the human face, masks of fantastic beings and various objects, masks that represent living men or the deceased. Among many peoples there is a hierarchy of masks. Besides the Great Mask and the Mask of Spirit, there are those that "kill women", masks of judges, guardians of order, masks of witches, mysterious masks, masks that protect spirits and masks of the dead. The majority of masks is carved or decorated with metal, shells-cauris or wool. |
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Masks carry out their meaning through artists and through dancers. A song is meaningless if not sung, a mask is meaningless if not used, the Dogons say. Only in action and through dance can a mask attain supernatural powers. A mask offers to the supernatural being the opportunity for incarnation and to a dancer a way of becoming a supernatural being through dance. The best way to understand masks is to attend a ceremony in a village community, as I did. On this occasion, in African costume, I experienced the blend of creation and its symbolic return to the present. The Dogons’ masks, in symbiosis with appropriate costumes and surroundings, with music, dance, singing and chanting, revealed to me the connection that exists between the unreal world and a real one, and between everyday activities and the cosmic order as God set it at the beginning of the world.
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