Dogon (Dogo, Habbé, Kado, Kibisi, Tombo), Mali & Burkina Faso

Nommo primordial couple. The 250,000 Dogon are secluded in the south of Mali, among the cliffs south of the great bend of the Niger River. They are among the few African cultures that have remained very close to the ancestral traditions. The Dogon explain the origin of human beings in complex myths about the creation of the world.  The first Dogon primordial ancestors, called Nommo, were bisexual water gods. They were created in heaven by the creator god Amma and descended from heaven to earth in an ark. The Nommo founded the eight Dogon lineages and introduced weaving, smithing, and agriculture to their human descendants. These eight human beings constitute original ancestors of the Dogon lineages. The present male and female figures present the primordial couple and can be a metaphorical visual statement of Dogon ideology expressing interdependence and complementarity of male and female, as well as order and harmony of universe.

Material: wood

Size:   H. 14”, W. 5”, D. 2”