Tribal Art

The raised arms of this Dogon tribal statuette would constitute a gesture of contrition following an original fault or even a call for rain.
The irregular surface is grainy, locally flaking, abrasions and desiccation cracks.

The south of the plateau dominating the Bandiagara cliff has been occupied since the 10th century by the Tellem and the Niongom. They were then displaced by the Dogon in the 15th century, who fled the Mandé. The Tellem became the ancestors of the Kurumba of Burkina Faso. Dogon statuary is not easily distinguished from that of the Tellem and nor from that of the Niongom because reciprocal influences have manifested themselves over the centuries . A recurrence: the characters with arms raised above their heads, in an invocation position, which would be an act of contrition following a drought which would have been caused by a violation of the ritual. Sculpted for the most part to order placed by a family and placed on the family altar Tiré Kabou, the Dogon tribal statues, sometimes embodying the nyama of the deceased, participate in the various rituals including those of the sowing and harvest periods. Their functions, however, remain little known.