African Carving: A Dogon Kanaga Mask
click here to preview this film
by Thomas Blakely and Eliot Elisofon
in collaboration with Robert Gardner for The Film Study Center at Harvard University
color, 19 min, 1974
institutional price includes public performance rights
PayPal purchases ship via USPS Priority Mail
contact us for rentals and 16mm orders (institutions & organizations only)
overnight shipping available upon request
The Kanaga mask is used in deeply sacred rituals by the Dogon people of Mali. Carving this mask is as important a ritual as the ceremonies in which the mask is used. The carver, a blacksmith, finds the proper tree and, in a secret cave outside the village, he shapes the mask with gestures which repeat the movement of the dancers who will wear it. When a dancer wears the Kanaga mask he becomes the Creator symbolically. He touches the ground with his mask and directs a soul to Heaven. Although these dances are now frequently performed for the public, the meaning of Kanaga is retained by the Dogon who fear, respect and depend on the power of the mask.
This film contains Dama dance material from the Wunderman Foundation.
Related Films
In the Shadow of the Sun
Inagina: The Last House of Iron