Masquerades Today

These rites and rituals, once performed only on special occasions, are now routinely staged for the benefit of tourists and television crews. As Paul Lanes more recent work among the Dogon has shown, tourist officials arrange, stage and direct these dances for the pleasure and convenience of tourists transforming the dance into popular art (Martin & O’Meara 1995, p. 290). When local materials are difficult to obtain, imported substitutes are used bringing new costumes for old masquerades. Masqueraders once revered as reincarnated ancestors are now known to wear Nike shoes and libations substitute imported whiskey for the local brew (ibid.)

Masquerading is still an important aspect of Malian life today. Youth associations help communities celebrate agricultural labor-- portraying historic and mythical figures, contemporary leaders, elders, hunters, village personalities, and foreigners. Some performers demonstrate social knowledge; others may make satirical commentaries on people’s beliefs and behavior. Regardless of what the wearer intends, the viewers interpret what they see according to experiences and interests. The people put their own interpretations into these long held events (Martin & O’Meara 1995, p. 254-255). A viewer of Bamanan Sid Ballo’s bird masquerade praising the name of the founder of the great Malian empire may recall the praise dances recorded long ago by the Muslim travelers to the court of Mansa Musa (Martin & O’Meara pp. 152, 244; Willett 1971, p. 93)

In the Mopti and San district, the Bamana carve and costume marionettes used in performances of burlesque and comedies. What may at one time have been sacred rites, have now been turned into comic performances (Leuzinger 1960, p. 77) Older Bamana puppets feature a crudely sculpted face with sharply defined nose; moveable arms and legs are lifted sideways on strings. The clothes are mostly rags or cloaks made of twisted fiber (Wassing 1968, p 221-222). Neighboring Marka marionettes have heads reminiscent of the sheet metal decorated initiation masks.

A quite remarkable Pelican puppet of the Bozo people can be found in the Girard Collection at the Museum of International Folk Art (Glassie 1989, p249). Used for the Pelican dance, the brightly painted wood and cloth puppet borrows elements from the famed chi wara headdress of their neighbors, the Bamana. Since the Bozo are all Muslims, this puppet and dance has no religious significance to them. From the appearance, it represents the male buck chi wara overseeing a cluster of workers (a group of smaller antelopes) tilling the earth-- all on top of a pelican beak. The long flat neck of the pelican echoes the open fretwork of the antelope mane. One can only guess that this may be in mockery of the Bamana’s pagan beliefs.

The society of Black Africa--and that of Africans in Mali -- is under constant change. New ideas are being merged with old. Western ideas are replacing traditional values. Imported goods are outnumbering handmade local crafts. But, for those who believe, there are the arts -- the songs, music, costumes, dances, and the sculptures -- which intensify and bring to life the rituals that, celebrate the times of transitions. These thresholds are the focal points of the cycle of life among the Malian people. From the primordial ancestors to each new birth, there is a flow and continuity -- a pattern in the span of a lifetime, from day to day, from year to year. The sculptures and arts of the Malian people lend substance and authority to these patterns and must be continued and nurtured. Every effort must be supported to maintain the indigenous traditions of Mali.

The art of Dogon and Bamana today depicts both traditional and contemporary themes ("Togu na and Cheko" 1989). For the Dogon, it is the togu na (meaning "House of Words"), the meetinghouse, that is the centerpiece of each village. It is at the togu na, where men of the village gather to discuss important matters of the community (See this photograph- Washington Post Archives). Masterfully sculpted columns of wood -- or stone in the rocky cliff region support the massive millet-stalk roof. The ceiling is low to insure the men sit patiently discussing the matters at hand and come to consensus. While many of the columns are carved with traditional themes - the primordial couple, the maternal figure, the equestrian and so on -- others are carved with contemporary images and brightly painted. As these column have become prized pieces for collectors today, some villages have chose to deface their columns to preserve their togu na; others have chosen to sell the columns and carve new ones. The columns of the togu na in the rocky cliff region are made of stone and plastered with images of the dama. These sculptured and painted reminders remain until the next dama -- when the are replastered and repainted.

The Bamana have developed a unique form of community theater, called cheko. Here the marionettes and other puppets appear as well as masterfully carved masks in colorful costumes. With each new cheko, there are new masks, new characters. The cheko celebration is at the beginning of the planting season and is open to all to attend -- including neighboring groups (Bobo, Marka and Bozo are many cultures whose images and techniques have been borrowed for this festival). The actors in cheko performances are colorful, animated puppets -- some are small hand puppets, others are large requiring two people to maneuver them. The mythical figures appear as parts of these new masks. For instance, the chi wara in carved as horns on the sigui -- a huge colorful ox with a brightly patterned cloth body. While the Bamana and Dogon practice their traditional ceremonies, as well, these two examples show how art continues to evolve in Africa today.

See examples of Bamana puppets.
See several puppets from Mali (scroll through exhibit)

Togu na and Cheko: Change and Continuity in the Art of Mali Togu na and Cheko: Change and Continuity in the Art of Mali (1989) Washington, D.C.: Staniski Media Resources for the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute. VHS: 28 minutes.

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