Kanaga
mask...
The
most known Dogon mask is the kanaga mask which
represents the bird with the same name. The triangular
form of the face is the jaw of the bird and the
lower conical form is its tongue. The mask is finished
by a structure which represents the Komondo's spread
wings, a mythical bird. The two little pictures
on the face represent the first couple that Dogon
people look upon as their ancestor. The cross refers
to the myth of
creation. The upper part of the cross symbolizes
the supernatural world, and the lower part symbolizes
the terrestrial world. The line between the two
parts is the union between the two worlds. In accordance
with mythology, the cross of the mask is the God's
hand. In
the ritual dance, the person with the mask bend
down when he dance, pointing his cross at
the ground with the intention to establish a link
between earth and sky. For
funeral rites, members of the Awa's society with
masks dance on the house' roof of the dead
man, in order to lead his soul (nyama) into its
eternal rest, and in the same time in order to
defend the living from harm he can do to them.
