“Dama” dancer sculptures

Description:	Like many cultures, the cliff-dwelling Dogon peoples of rural Mali in West Africa have special beliefs and practices related to death. It is believed that after a person dies, even if his body is removed, his spirit remains in his home. The spirit must be coaxed out with a special ceremony. The spirit then begins its journey on to the heavenly world to join the other ancestors. The bodies of the deceased are hauled high up into burial caves along the cliffs where it is believed the first humans lived. Every two or three years, the Dogon gather to conduct a dama dance, believed to help create a bridge to the supernatural world. This dance marks the closing of the mourning period for community members who died since the last dama dance. It is believed that without the dama dance the dead cannot pass over into peace. The dance lasts several days and features dancers wearing many different types of dance outfits and masks that mimic animals and figures in daily Dogon life. Some of the most striking dancers are those on stilts, dressed in elaborate outfits and masks. Villagers surround the dancers and watch as they execute difficult choreographed steps. The stilts are meant to imitate the tingetange, a long-legged water bird. Initiation, mourning and other masked ceremonies are conducted by the Dogon mens association, called awa. Dogon villages surround the Bandiagara cliffs of Mali. Dogon peoples live in villages with mud homes and granaries below the cliffs. Their survival depends on crops grown in terraces below the cliffs. Their primary crop is millet, while onions are grown as their only cash crop.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/1080
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Geography:	Africa, West
Subjects:	Mali Dogon (African people) Dogon (African people) -- Social life and customs Dogon (African people) -- Religion and mythology Dogon (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies Dance Sculpture

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