Dogon Face Mask (Kanaga)

3D ModelNoAI

Wood, paint, and plant fiber

Overall: 34 ¾ x 18 ¾ x 5 ¾ in. (88.3 x 47.6 x 14.6 cm)

Gift of Alan Potamkin, 2012.2.66

This kanaga (woman of the spirits) mask is worn by members of the men’s Awa society in the performance of the dama, a second burial rite that ends a two- to three-year period of mourning. The dama turns the deceased into a living ancestor and ensures safe passage of their spirit into the ancestral world. Without the dama mask dance the dead could not make the transition in peace. For the surviving kin and community, the dama reestablishes the family and social harmony disrupted by death.