Beautiful "yo domolo" staff · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3049331
Private Collection, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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.
The object Beautiful “yo domolo” staff with the object ID 3049331 was part of the auction 99th Auction on November 12, 2022. The object with the lot number 231 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,100 with an asking price of EUR 600.
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Comparing literature
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, New York 1988, p. 94