There are around 400,000 Dogon people in Africa. They also have 125 languages being used by the Dogons as well. These people used to be hunter gatherers, but after some time, they became very good farmers as a result of modernization in Africa.
The Dogon people are very well known for their excellent masks as well as their wooden figures. These masks are usually filled with very intricate designs. But the Dogons also use very simple colors such as red and white for these masks.
The Dogon people were also very well known having religion take place in their works of art such as in their wooden carvings. Their religion gives birth to large amounts of cults that helped make their art more diverse and unique every time a Dogon artist would make a wooden carving. The Dagon religion is polytheistic with the Amma as the main deity. This religion is also based around worshiping your ancestors.
The wooden sculptures that the Dogon people would make were very simple. They tried to show the human being as a very simple person unlike the Greeks where they would try to show their people as extremely muscular.
The art of the Dogon people also tends to be based on fertility just like the people of the Congo. This tends to be a recurring theme in Africa. The reason why is because Africa is home to the origins of the earliest human beings so as a result, their ideas tend to not change. And one of these ideas is their worship towards fertility.
One such symbol of fertility is the Dogon sculpture of Louvre. This wooden figure is of a woman. This woman has very exaggerated breasts. This theme of exaggerated breasts is very common when talking about fertility because it shows that the woman is ready for motherhood if she has not had any children already. The exaggerated breasts are also meant to show that she is able to feed her children. In other words, this mom is ready to provide for a child to ensure that the Dogon people can survive.
The Dogon were also known for theiur excellent craftsmanship in their masks as well. These masks generally are very large as to show off. Think of it as a peacock showing its feathers so it can impress.
Just like the wooden sculptures the Dogon make, the masks are meant to be used in religious ceremonies. These masks would usually be used in dancing rituals called damas, but it is very difficult to see these rituals be performed. Every mask that the Dogon use is meant to have a religious effect such as asking the gods to bless them with a good harvest.
A great example of these masks being used in religious ceremonies is from a ritual called the Dance of the Antelopes. The masks are in the shape of a box and have these very colorful feathers sticking out of them. This religious ceremony is meant to connect the Dogon people from the ground to the heavens.
Though the culture of the Dogon and the culture of the people of Congo may be in different areas, both share the same values of fertility. I believe that this is a common concept from old African cultures.
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