Exceptional mask 50 cm - Dogon - Mali

This superb zoomorphic Dogon mask is crowned with an ancestral figure. Among the Dogons, more than eighty types of masks embody the figures of their cosmogonical myths. Worn in large numbers during funeral ceremonies, they accompany the ritual dance that guides wandering souls to the realm of the spirits and of the ancestors. Beyond ritual, some masks stage real narratives. This is the case of the dymmo mask (the rabbit) and the dannana mask (the hunter): during a theatrical performance in the heart of the village square, the hunter simulates a chase, pushing the rabbits to scatter and to hide among the crowd.