Antelope mask "walu" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3040647

Description

light wood, black paint, remains of red and white pigment, typical box-shape with deepened face halves and raised nose bridge, small remains of painting with stripes and dots, surface structure strongly marked by weathering, missing parts, cracks, rep. (left ear);
the costume worn with the antelope mask consists of fiber hood, skirts, armbands and fiber bandoliers crossed over the chest. The dancer holds two short sticks with which he scratches the ground, imitating the behaviour of antilope during their mating displays, but also resembling men hoeing the fields to make them fruitful. The antelope masks appear at the “dama”, or final commemorative ceremony for important Dogon elder, where hundreds of masked dancers perform.