Imina dyodyomini (hornbill 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. Hornbills are associated with farming, and their dance mimics the harvest of life-sustaining millet through the performer’s squatting and pecking at the ground like a bird collecting food.
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