UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

DEPARTMENT OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS

NAME: OSAGIEDE Edith
MATT NO. : ENV2204929
COURSE CODE : FAH 316
COURSE TITLE: AFRICAN ART HISTORY 2
NAME OF LECTURER: HENRY AIGBE

DOGON OF MALI

Viewed from a distance, the colossal Bandiagara Escarpment appears like an endless
wall rising high above the surrounding scrubland. Forming the edge of a 200 km-long
plateau, the jagged sandstone cliff lies near the Sahara’s southern limit, within a
transition area separating arid lands to the north from tropical forests farther
south. Distributed along the escarpment’s base, and in a few places on the plateau
it encircles, are clusters of villages inhabited by a West African people whose
culture, artistic expression, and complex belief system have remained mostly
unchanged for centuries. Far from a paved road, this isolated place is home to
Mali’s Dogon people.
Living without electricity or indoor plumbing, Dogon society is shaped by
longstanding gender roles and cultural norms. While some villages have adopted
Islam or Christianity, a large percentage of Dogon are animists who believe in the
importance of a synergy between the spiritual world of gods and ancestors, and the
living world of plants, people, and animals.
Without a written language, the Dogon interpret and explain their existence
through stories, songs, artwork, and dance. Although celebrated for their
magnificent wooden carvings, the Dogon may be best known for a funeral ceremony
called the dama, intended to help the deceased make the transition from the living
to the spiritual worlds. Lasting several days, the dama involves spectacular dances
that mimic persons, animals, human attributes, and spirits. Depending on the status
of the deceased, more than a hundred young men wearing masks and colorful regalia
may take part in a public performance. For outsiders, the dama is an unforgettable
experience.
Although isolated from cities and major transportation routes, the region
surrounding the Bandiagara Escarpment is increasingly affected by social and
economic factors from outside. For example, contact with outsiders helped in
establishing Islam and Christianity, and introduced economic opportunities for
Dogon willing to leave their village or become involved in the tourism industry.
Faced with change, the dama has gained importance as a venue enabling younger
generations to learn and share cultural practices and traditions. This article
explores living and spiritual worlds of the Dogon, together with the dama’s role in
sustaining traditions amidst external influences on village life.

DOGON ART
The Dogon people are known for their legends about their origins and knowledge
about space and extraterrestrials. The Dogon people are also famous for their
intricately carved wooden masks and dance rituals for the deceased, a ritual known
as the The Kanaga mask is a mask of the Dogon of Mali traditionally used by members
of the Awa Society, especially during the ceremonies of the cult of the dead (dama,
ceremony of mourning).
CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

The Dogon culture is deeply rooted in their spiritual beliefs, which center around
the worship of a supreme god named Amma. They believe in ancestral spirits, known
as Nommo, who are considered mediators between the creator deity and the people.
Their traditions include intricate wooden masks, elaborate burial ceremonies, and a
complex system of astronomy.

*Key Aspects of Dogon Culture:*

- *Spirituality*: The Dogon people believe in a supreme god Amma and ancestral
spirits Nommo.
- *Astronomy*: They have substantial knowledge of astronomy, particularly about the
star system Sirius.
- *Masks and Art*: Dogon people are known for their intricately carved wooden
masks, often used in rituals and ceremonies.
- *Architecture*: Their dwellings are constructed of mud-brick, often located on
vertical cliffs, showcasing unique architectural The Dogon people of Mali are
believed to have come from Egypt and may have inhabited Libya for a time. They
migrated to the Bandiagara escarpment sometime between the fourteenth and sixteenth
centuries.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICE AND BELIEF

The Dogon tribe of Mali believes in the supreme god Amma, who knows and sees all.
However, the tribe focuses their worship and practices on ancestor worship.
The supreme god of the Dogon tribe of Africa is Amma. Amma created three lesser
gods: Nommo, Lebe, and Yurugu.
The Dogon people are known for their tribal dance ceremonies, especially the ritual
for the deceased to pass to the spirit world known as the dama. They are also known
for their legends about extraterrestrials
The Dogon creation myth interprets the universe and explains the structure and
rationale for male and female roles, and other aspects of social organization.
Villages are believed to be shared by the inneomo (living) and innepuru (dead), who
coexist in a symbiotic union. The all-knowing sky god Amma is responsible for
maintaining a balance between living and dead worlds. Each village has a shrine
containing a small bit of soil to honor Lebe, the earth god who maintains the
agricultural cycle and serves as a source of inspiration for the hogon, or
spiritual leader (Douny 2011). The role of the hogon falls to the oldest man in a
village.

Bambara, ethnolinguistic group of the upper Niger region of Mali whose language,
Bambara (Bamana), belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
The Bambara are to a great extent intermingled with other tribes, and there is no
centralized organization. Each small district, made up of a number of villages, is
under a dominant family that provides a chief, or fama. The fama has considerable
powers but must defer to a council of elders.
The Bambara, like other West African peoples, use the distinctive N’ko alphabet,
which reads from right to left. They have a remarkable system of metaphysics and
cosmology, encompassing associated animistic cults, prayers, and myths. Their
religious sculptures in wood and metal are renowned.
Many people migrated to the region’s The Bambara live in the region around Bamako,
the capital of Mali. Their traditions include six male societies, each with its own
type of mask. The society known as Ntomo is for young boys before circumcision. The
masks associated with Ntomo have a line of vertical projections above the face,
signifying beliefs related to human creations. The Tyiwara, an age grade that
prepares young men to be husbands and fathers, focuses on agriculture. Its mask
uses a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the mythical being who
taught men how to farm. The Komo is the custodian of tradition and is concerned
with all aspects of community life—agriculture, judicial processes, and passage
rites. Its masks, which are considered to be enormously powerful, are shaped in an
elongated animal form decorated with actual horns of antelope, quills of porcupine,
bird skulls, and other objects. Masks of the Kono, which enforces civic morality,
are also elongated and encrusted with sacrificial material. The Kore, which
challenges immoral authority and hypocritical morality through sexually explicit
gestures and buffoonery, once employed masks representing the hyena, lion, monkey,
antelope, and horse but now is represented primarily through puppet performances.
Ancestor figures of the Bambara clearly derive from the same artistic tradition as
do many of those of the Dogon; so also do their sculptures in wrought iron. Such
figures are made by blacksmiths, who—because of their skill in transforming
material from the earth—are believed to control great amounts of power (nyama).
Another art form significant to the Bambara is a textile known as bokolanfini. This
cloth, embellished with designs painted in earth, absorbs the nyama released during
girls’ initiation excision and is also worn for marriage and burial. Traditionally,
bokolanfini patterns served as cues to broader reflections on life; contemporary
textiles are created in Bamako and elsewhere solely with fashion in

BAMBARA ART

Chiwara headdress Bambara dance headdress of wood in the form of an antelope,

representing the spirit Chiwara, who introduced agriculture; from Mali. These
headdresses, attached to a wickerwork cap, are worn by farmers who, at the time of
planting and harvest, dance in imitation of leaping antelope. In the National
Museum, Copenhagen. Height 50 cm.
(more)
Chiwara, antelope figure of the Bambara (Bamana) people of Mali that represents the
spirit that taught humans the fundamentals of agriculture. The Bambara honour
Chiwara though art and dance.
According to Bambara legend, Chiwara used his antlers and pointed stick to dig into
the earth, making it possible for humans to cultivate the land. Humans watched
Chiwara and then tilled their own soil. Chiwara used his hoofs to cover the seeds,
and humans, observing closely, became experts at planting seeds. The Bambara farms
became so bountiful that they had too much corn for their own use. They wasted it,
thinking that it was easy to cultivate. Chiwara grew disappointed and buried
himself in the earth. This disturbed the elders of the Bambara, who regretted that
they had lost him. They then ordered that a mask be made in memory of Chiwara, to
honour him for teaching them how to farm the land. Many elaborate headdresses have
been created in his honour.
The Chiwara mask is held for the persons who are the best and fastest workers of
the land, and so it is passed from one person to another depending on skill and
expertise. It is a high honour to be able to wear the mask and dance the ceremonial
Chiwara dance. The dance, representing both male and female genders, commemorates
Chiwara with the dancers wearing beautifully carved headdresses representing
antelopes. The dancers leap and turn, moving their heads and feet like the
antelope, their movements grounded in hundreds of years of tradition. The dance,
which suggests fertility, reproduction, propitiation of the spirits and ancestors,
and gratitude to Chiwara, carries with it moral lessons and religious symbolism.
Bamileke OF CAMEROON
Discover the fascinating world of the Bamileke, the largest ethnic group in
Cameroon. Inhabiting the country’s West and Northwest regions, they have a rich
cultural heritage.
Under the guidance of a chief or fon, the Bamileke are organized into various
groups. They speak closely related languages from the Eastern Grassfield branch of
the GrassField language family, forming a dialect continuum with seventeen or more
dialects.

BAMILEKE ART

The Bamileke are renowned for their breathtaking masquerades adorned with intricate
beadwork, such as the awe-inspiring Elephant mask bellow;

In particular, this elephant mask was meant to be worn by members of the Kuosi
society within the Bamileke community. The Kuosi society is a private men's society
and the majority of their inner workings are closely guarded. The person who would
have worn this mask would have been a high-ranking member of the society.

BAMOUN

The Kingdom of Bamoun was a state in central Africa, part of what is now northwest
Cameroon. It was founded by the Bamun, an ethnic group from northeast Cameroon. Its
capital was the ancient walled city of Fumban. The kingdom came under control of
German West Africa in 1916

THE TWO-HEADED SNAKE PALACE OF BAMUM KINGDOM IN CAMEROON

The Bamoun live in a region full of wooded hills and savannahs. This large
territory called Grassland in the southwest of Cameroon is also home to other
closely related ethnic groups such as the Bamiléké and the Tikar. Stylistically,
the influence of this inter-ethnic promiximity can be felt in common features on
art pieces, such as the tendency to depict chubby figures with bulging eyes among
the Tikar, or the application of beads on the sculptures of Bamileke African art.

BAMOUN ART
The Bamum people are noted as craftsmen. Men excel in embroidery, weaving,
leatherwork, wood carving, ivory carving, metal works and blacksmithing. And the
women involve in Pottery, farming, raising livestock, while they also manage
household and raising children.

REFERENCES
* [Link] (2024)
* [Link]-arts [Link]
* [Link] 2021 Africa museum.
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