Dege black monkey mask - Dogon - Mali

The Dogon live off millet cultivation. Their fields occupy small valleys that crisscross the plateau or cling to the cliff escarpments, a few meters long and even narrower. Some of these 'fields,' supported by a stone wall, can only be accessed by a rope ladder. Masks, which are the essential attribute of the men's society to which all adults in the village belong, are now only used at male funerals and at gatherings to lift mourning held every two or three years for important figures. They play no role in the planting or harvesting rituals, although they may be used as a sign of prohibition to protect crops or fruits from possible trespassing. The masks are generally kept outside the village, hidden from female eyes, near the fiber costumes that accompany their display and near the 'mother of masks,' an enormous human face extended by a sinuous board that can reach up to ten meters in length.

Provenance: Private collection
Argiles collection, Barcelona