Togu na support post with female figure
Within every quarter of a Dogon village is at least one togu na, or men’s rest house. Located near the central plaza, they are the first structures built in a village when it is founded. Its low ceiling is designed so that the men who congregate within cannot stand upright, but are obliged to harmoniously sit in communal repose or engage in discussions of issues important to the community. The rectangular, open-sided shelter is crowned by a thick roof of millet thatch supported around its perimeter by stone or wood pillars, which may be carved with exterior-facing imagery.
Most of the togu na posts that feature figural imagery are from villages on the Seno Plain, a sandy expanse extending from the Bandiagara’s cliffs to the Malian border with Burkina Faso. The majority of these pillars depict voluptuous female figures with pronounced conical breasts, like this example, but others feature animals, masks, and phallic imagery.
Most of the togu na posts that feature figural imagery are from villages on the Seno Plain, a sandy expanse extending from the Bandiagara’s cliffs to the Malian border with Burkina Faso. The majority of these pillars depict voluptuous female figures with pronounced conical breasts, like this example, but others feature animals, masks, and phallic imagery.
Artwork Details
- Title: Togu na support post with female figure
- Artist: Mande numu (blacksmith)
- Date: 19th–mid-20th century
- Geography: Mali, Seno Plain region
- Culture: Dogon peoples
- Medium: Wood
- Dimensions: H. 86 1/4 × W. 23 1/2 × D. 8 1/2 in. (219.1 × 59.7 × 21.6 cm)
- Classification: Wood
- Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964
- Object Number: 1978.412.337
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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Tellem or Dogon blacksmith
16th–19th century
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19th–early 20th century
Mande numu (blacksmith)
19th–mid-20th century
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18th–early 19th century
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