
Collection Online as of December 13, 2019
Wood
Overall: 111.1 cm (43 3/4 in.)
James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund 1960.169
not on view
Dogon masks are worn at the end-of-mourning ceremonies called dama. The masks incarnate ancestors, which can be human, animal, or vegetal. The female figure with raised arms topping this example represents the mythical character Yasigine, who played a key role in the very first sigi celebration. Held every 60 years, the sigi ceremony commemorates the arrival of death.