Artwork Page for Mask (Kanaga)

Details / Information for Mask (Kanaga)

Mask (Kanaga)

c. 1930s

Africa, West Africa, Mali, Dogon-style maker

Medium
Wood, paint, leather, human hair, plant fiber, and metal
Measurements
Overall: 94 cm (37 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Katherine C. White 1971.289
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Performing the kanaga mask takes a lot of physical strength, so teenagers or young men typically dance it.

Description

The kanaga, characterized by its double-barred superstructure, has been interpreted variously as representing a bird, a crocodile, Amma (the creator god), or the cosmic realms of sky and earth. Kanaga maskers perform as part of dama rites, whose goal is to escort the soul of a deceased on its journey to the spiritual realm. The masks are spectacular in motion—dramatic dips and whirls in which the dancer touches the top of the mask to the ground with each rapid revolution.
A tall wood mask features a dark face with deep rectangular eye sockets and upward-reaching spikes. A central post rises from the head, intersected by two horizontal bars with short vertical limbs pointing in opposite directions. Cream, black, and reddish-brown paint creates geometric patterns, including crossed lines at the junctions. Weathered plant fibers and metal pieces hang from the jaw, balancing the mask's rugged texture and stark, symmetrical silhouette.

Mask (Kanaga)

c. 1930s

Africa, West Africa, Mali, Dogon-style maker

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