Dogon OLD Bird Mask Antique African Tribal Masque Mali Extensive Age / Use, Rare Presentation - Superb! Start Price USD 1,195.00 Current Price USD 1,195.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, October 04, 2008 End Time Monday, November 03, 2008 Location Santa Fe, NM See more about 'Dogon OLD Bird Mask Antique African Tribal Masque Mali' Description   An Exquisite Dogon Bird Ceremonial Dance MaskAntique African Masque Tribal Sculpture Mali     A Stunning Old Dogon Bird Mask - Rare, Museum Quality PresentationAntique African Masque Tribal Sculpture Mali Collected from the: Dogon peoples of the Bandiagara Cliffs near Ireli in Mali, West AfricaMaterial: Hardwood, pigment, skin oilPeriod: Early 20th century, conservativelyDimensions: 17.5" height, 6.5" width, 4.25" depth; weight is 2.20 pounds.Condition: Excellent - significant signs of age and wear from extensive tribal use, exposed wood displays considerable patination. Make special note of the surface condition and hole wear, the weathered patina displays generous remnants of early pigments with liberal traces of skin oil which suggest frequent tribal wear and handling - exceptional! Please click on the photos below to fully appreciate this important old piece! And be sure to see the fascinating AFRICAN MASKS in our eBay store! Or explore our stunning AFRICAN SCULPTURES! Click Images to Enlarge Information on Dogon MasksDogon masks are used primarily for funerals. More than seventy mask types depict a variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, persons, and inanimate objects. Each, with mythical significance, plays a specific role in the sequence of dances. "Reference has been made to the great variety of masks employed by the Dogon and the themes they represent. From a quantity perspective, masks constitute the most numerous of the art objects produced by the Dogon. This quantitative pre-eminence is not necessarily reflected in western collections for several reasons. Masks were traditionally discarded every sixty years at the time of the Sigui. Breakage rates were high because of the manner and frequency of use between Sigui festivals. Statuary and small metal objects were far less numerous than masks. But their survival rates were higher because they were not subjected to stress use, were more carefully housed and were not ritually destroyed or discarded as was the case with masks." See Dogon Cliff Dwellers and Masques du pays Dogon for further details. Dogon Tribal HistoryThe 300,000 Dogon inhabit approximately 700 villages in Mali, primarily along a 125 mile (200 kilometer) stretch of escarpment known as the Cliffs of Bandiagara. These sandstone cliffs run from southwest to northeast, roughly parallel to the Niger River, and attain heights up to 2000 feet 600 meters (2000 feet). Accounts of early Dogon history vary according to the specific Dogon clan and/or archaeological records consulted, with multiple versions of the Dogon origin myth as well as differing accounts of their migration from early ancestral homelands to the Bandiagara region. The people call themselves 'Dogon' or 'Dogom', but in the older literature they are most often called Habe, a Fulbe word meaning 'stranger' or 'pagan'. Certain theories suggest the tribe descended from an ancient Egyptian race that journeyed first to Libya, then on into regions of Guinea or Mauritania. Around 1490 AD, fleeing Mande invaders and/or drought, they migrated to eventually settle in the Bandiagara cliffs of central Mali. Legend has it that a snake led them to the cliffs at the southern end of the plateau, where they overwhelmed and usurped the local Tellem and Niongom populations. Carbon dating on remains excavated from the cliffs indicate the Toloy culture of the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, and the Tellem culture of the 11th to 15th centuries AD inhabited the area long before the Dogon arrived. The influence of these earlier cultures continue to be noted in Dogon art to this day. Dogon livelihood is based on agriculture production concentrated in fields at the edge of the cliffs where water is scarce, but enough for occasional irrigation. Agricultural dependence has recently forced the Dogon to move away from their beloved cliffs onto the more fertile Bongo plains to maintain their agricultural production of millet, of vital importance to feeding the tribes. Onions, one of their only cash crops, are sold as far away as Cote d'Ivoire. Villagers are known to use bark ropes to scale the towering Bandiagara cliffs in search of pigeon guano and Tellem artifacts that are then sold to subsidize their meager existence. As the Dogon are both Muslims and Animists, their social and religious organizations are closely interlinked. Assimilation of the popular Muslim beliefs was initially somewhat limited by topographical isolation and tribal exclusivity. The four principle Dogon cults of the Awa, Lebe, Wagem, and Binu, significantly contribute to the richness and diversity of Dogon culture. For these various cults the hogon is both priest and political chief of the village. The tribe's self-defense comes primarily from their social solidarity which is based on a complex combination of philosophic and religious dogmas, with the fundamental law being the worship of ancestors. Ritual masks and corpses were enshrined in caves and used for ceremonial rituals. All Dogon villages have at least one togu na, a shelter where the men gather, and a Lebe shrine where the Hogon presides over their rituals. 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