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Bala Players

15th–16th century

Not on view

In Mande culture, the xylophone-like bala figures in the Sunjata epic as the magical, preciously guarded possession of the blacksmith sorcerer king of Suso. The Moroccan author Ibn Battuta recounts that during his 1352 visit to the court of the Malian emperor Suleyman, he witnessed a bala performance by the official jeli, Dugha, who was accompanied by a chorus of one hundred female singers. As bala playing is not a customary activity in Dogon society, its depiction in this striking sculpture is exceptional.

Bala Players, Hardwood with organic materials, iron, Dogon peoples — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Bala Players, Hardwood with organic materials, iron, Dogon peoples

Bala Players, Hardwood with organic materials, iron, Dogon peoples

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This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Photo:Hughes Dubois

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Photo: Hughes Dubois

Title: Bala Players

Date: 15th–16th century

Geography: Mali, North central Bandiagara Plateau

Culture: Dogon peoples

Medium: Hardwood with organic materials, iron

Dimensions: H. 17 3/8 × W. 10 × D. 7 in. (44.1 × 25.4 × 17.8 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: Private collection

Object Number: SL.3.2020.15.4

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.