Mask (Kanaga)
1 of 2
Object Label
Masks may be used at funeral ceremonies to honor and commemorate the dead as they enter the ancestral realm. Dogon dancers perform with kanaga masks at dama ceremonies honoring the dead (see the video at left). Rotating their upper bodies from the hips and swinging the masks in wide circles, the dancers imitate Amma, the creator god, who brought all things to life. Their outstretched movements symbolically spread the force of life throughout the world.
Caption
Dogon. Mask (Kanaga), 20th century. Wood, leather, pigment, vegetable fiber, 42 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 9 in. (108 x 59.1 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Allen C. Davis, 1995.171.11a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.171.11a-c_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Mask (Kanaga)
Date
20th century
Geography
Place made: Sanga area, Mopti Region, Mali
Medium
Wood, leather, pigment, vegetable fiber
Classification
Dimensions
42 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 9 in. (108 x 59.1 x 22.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Allen C. Davis
Accession Number
1995.171.11a-c
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Who are the Dogon?
The Dogon are a West African people living primarily in Mali. The Dogon are perhaps best known for their complex cosmology and retaining their traditional spirituality in a region that was largely converted to Islam.
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