ClassificationsAfrican Art

Kanaga Mask

Place CreatedBandiagara, Mali, Africa

CultureDogon

Datemid 20th Century

MediumWood, paint, hide, raffia

Credit LineGift of Dr. Jay S. Friedman

Dimensions7" x 3' 8" x 1' 10 11/16" (17.8 x 111.7 x 57.7 cm)

Object number1982.016

Label TextThe Dogon migrated to present-day Mali beginning in the fifteenth century, settling along the Bandiagara escarpment. The harsh, remote terrain of central Mali protected the Dogon and shaped their culture. The Kanaga mask honors the dead and connects them to the living, in much the same way as the long cliff on which they live connects the earth and sky, and the vertical strip of the mask connects the two horizontal bands. Young men wear the Kanaga mask during the Dama ceremony, a funeral festival that occurs every twelve years in which the masks lead those who died during the cycle to the afterlife. The masks are painted with white, black, and often washer's blue, a chalky material traditionally used to whiten clothes in the laundry. A brightly colored raffia mane surrounds the face and complements the raffia bands along the arms and feet of the dancer. The dancer also wears a kilt and suspenders. The masquerader secures the mask by biting down on a bit, though there is netting in the back to keep it upright. Though the wood is not heavy, his dance includes whipping his body around and scraping the tip of the mask to the earth, making it a dynamic and audible procession.
Exhibition HistoryAsen: Iron Altars of the Fon People of Benin (travelling show), Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, October 2 - December 21, 1985; Anniston Museum of Natural History, Alabama, January 9 - February 9, 1986; Grinter Galleries, Center for African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Febrary 17 - March 14, 1986
Canon Chapel Installation, Emory University, February 24, 1989
Selected Acquisitions: Asia to America, Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology, May 8 - August 8, 1987
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 31 - June 21, 2015
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, August 6, 2016 - June 30, 2025
Masquerade: Scripturalizing Modernities Through Black Flesh, A Pitts Theology Library Digital Exhibition, Emory University, 2021 (virtual exhibition)
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, July 7, 2025 - August 3, 2025
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, September 13, 2025 - June 9, 2026
MCCM Permanent Collecrtion Galleries, July 5, 2026 - Present

Terms

ProvenanceEx coll. Dr. Jay Friedman, Atlanta, Georgia, acquired in Mali, 1967-1968.

Status

On view

Collections

African Art

Technical NotesWhile preparing this mask for exhibition, former Andrew W. Mellon Fellow Ashley Jehle discovered clues to the object’s original construction. Informed by careful examination of the object, research into its use, and consultation with the curator, the conservation treatment improved the object’s stability and appearance.