Ritual staff "yo domolo" · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3040433
Description
wood, brown patina, white pigment, partly encrusted, carved with anthropomorphic face, incised ornaments, grinded metal tags, eyes with inlay (missing on one side), slightly dam., abrasion of paint, 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”. 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 Ritual staff “yo domolo” with the object ID 3040433 was last part of the auction 83rd Tribal Art Auction at May 28, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 140.
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Comparing literature
Ezra, Kate, Art of the Dogon, New York 1988, p. 94