African Arts Gallery

This Dogon sculpture was acquired by its owner in the central part of the Bandiagara cliff, bombou-toro. Four figures surmounted by a polyhedron are leaned against a central trunk. Their feet disappear into a circular base. The stretched arms, following the narrow bust, are extended by hands resting on the bent knees.
Eroded surface imprinted with blackish residues, scattered, consecutive to the libations of use. Abrasions and desiccation cracks.
Carved for the most part on order placed by a family, Dogon statues can also be the object of worship on the part of the whole community when they commemorate, for example, the foundation of the village. However, their functions remain little known. The role of carved figures was usually to protect or heal the sick. Libations and sacrifices were therefore dedicated to them. Alongside Islam, Dogon religious rites are organized around four main cults: the Lébé, relating to fertility, under the spiritual authority of the Hogon, the Wagem, cult of the ancestors under the authority of the patriarch, the Binou invoking the spirit world and led by the priest of the Binou, and the society of masks concerning the funeral.