Kanaga Mask

 

The mask called Kanaga has his face and forehead carved into windbreaks. The transverse arms are formed by two parallel tablets added and tied in equal dimensions. The upper part can be finished with two small statuettes representing the promordial pair, the first couple considered by the Dogon as his first ancestor. It has the shape of a Lorena cross.

It's the best known mask of the Dogon. In addition to the triangular shape of the face it always carries openings in the eyes normally triangular. They represent the jaw with the beak of the mythical bird komolo or komondo and the lower conical shape of his tongue. A structure of this. The cross refers to the myth of creation. The upper arms of the cross symbolize the supernatural world and so look to heaven. The lower arms, which look down on the ground, symbolize the earthly world. The line between the two sides is the union between the two worlds. According to mythology Dogon, the cross of the mask is the hand of God and the bird is the creator god that unites heaven and earth. In ritual dances, the mask bearer leans toward the ground to establish a link between heaven and earth. In the funerary rites of society Awa masks dance on the roof of the deceased's house to lead his soul to eternal rest and at the same time to protect the living from evil that his spirit could cause them.

Mask from the head of Prince Traoré.