Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Sirige

Atlas of Curiosities: Part 5

The Sirige is the most impressive of all Dogon masks, standing an impressive 15 feet tall.  When it emerged at the beginning of the procession it rivaled even the trees. 

A villager seated with us said that the height symbolized a link between this world and another world, and we marveled at the motion that the dancer achieved: now dipping, now rising.

When we inquired as to the mechanics of the dance, the same villager motioned to his own toothless mouth, the mouth of a dancer, as the bulk of the sirige is secured by a wooden bar gripped in the dancer’s teeth; the entire weight of the stunning mask supported by only his jaw.