Beautiful "yo domolo" staff · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3049331
sold
EUR 3,100
Provenance
Loudmer, Paris, 1 December 1984, Lot 94Private Collection, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Size
H: 53 cm
H: 20.9 inch
Description
wood, base
Worn over the shoulder or held in the hand, curved staffs such as this are emblems of the society of “yona”, or “ritual thieves”.
Each Dogon clan has a ritual thief, designated by the clan’s eldest member.
The principal activity of the society seems to occur at the funeral of one of its members, when the “yona” all stalk the village, stealing and killing as many chickens, sheep, and goats as they can, to be sacrificed and eaten at the funeral ceremony.
Comparing literature
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, New York 1988, p. 94