Imina omono (white monkey face mask)
In Dogon communities, masquerade performances have played an important role in facilitating the passage of departed male members into the ancestral realm. Face masks feature prominently in public ceremonies marking baga bundo (the time of burial) and dama (the end of mourning). Dama rites are held during the hottest and driest months of the year, roughly three to four years after a burial. Elaborate and costly preparations for this ceremony include the commissioning of dozens of masks evoking figures drawn from both Dogon cosmology and daily life. These diverse representations have distinct characters within the larger performance. Monkeys are referred to in the esoteric language of sigui so as “villains of the wilderness.” A threat to successful crop yields, they are danced as tricksters and nuisances.
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