Mask | Kanaga

Mask kanaga, 1900 - 1967

About the object

This headdress with double crossbars was made of light, pale-coloured wood. It has been painted white, black and blue. There is a net at the back. Masks of this kind were worn by dancers during the funeral ceremonies of the Dogon, which took place every 12 years. In the funeral ceremonies, known as Dama, the souls of the deceased family members are transported from the world of the living into the world of ancestral spirits. Today, the Kanaga masks of the Dogon are mainly danced during performances for tourists.

Kanaga masks are associated with funeral ceremonies and the commemoration of the deceased. They are worn in spectacular dances, which are popular tourist attractions today. Kanaga masks have different interpretations. For the uninitiated, the top of the headdress is supposed to represent the bird Godi, whereas for the initiated, it stands for gestures of the creator god Amma in the creation of the world, pointing to heaven with one hand and earth with the other. The dance invokes the inner vibration of the substance or matter that has been created. According to other interpretations, it represents the bird Komolo tebu in flight, the water insect Baramkamza dullogo, the fox or the crocodile, all animals that play an important role in creation myths.