Kanaga mask
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The Kanaga mask is a mask of the Dogon of Mali traditionally worn by members of the male Awa Society during a ceremony called the dama.[1] The dama is performed, months or even years after a person has died, in order to send their soul to the world of the dead.[2] The Kanaga mask is one of the most popular of the many types of masks used during a dama; in 1935, French anthropologist Marcel Griaule, counted 29 out of 74 masks at one such ceremony as being of the Kanaga type.[2]
The base wooden mask is worn on the face and is topped with a tall, two-barred cross,[1] with the wooden crossbars being of equal length The lower of the two has its ends pointing down, while the upper has its ends pointing up.[1] The entire mask can be over 3 feet (0.91 m) tall; the dimensions of one example are 43 1/16 × 24 3/8 × 6 15/16 inches (109.3 × 61.9 × 17.7 cm).[3]
The shape of the mask may represent various animal subjects: the kommolo tebu (a bird),[4] the lizard, the iguana, the barâmkamza dullogu (a water insect), the hand of God or the female spirit of the trees (gyinu ya).[5] The mask is presented in male and female forms, the male version being the most numerous.[6]
Symbolism
On flags
The Kanaga mask is represented on the flags of French Sudan (1892–1958), the ephemeral Republic of Sudan (1958–1959) and the short-lived Federation of Mali (1959–1960), which joined Senegal and the Sudanese Republic, formerly French Sudan.
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