Theatre puppet: Donso (a hunter)

The theatrical puppet (English: marionette, French: marionnette) of the maani type, with movable arms, animated from below by a puppeteer with strings, dances on the so-called mobile stage. It is part of the Sogo bò theatrical tradition in the Ségou region, in the south-central part of the Republic of Mali, organised under the auspices of Kamalen Ton, i.e. village youth associations. The puppet represents donso, i.e. a hunter. The figure can be recognised by the characteristic headdress. Hunting in the Bamans is a secondary occupation to farming, but it enjoys great prestige. Hunters are consistently praised as men of action, and they are local heroes. In the times of the Ségou and Kaarta Kingdoms (18th-19th centuries), they were warriors. They operate in the bush, which is generally considered to be dangerous and inhabited by malignant, menacing spirits, so the donso must always carry amulets to move safely through the terrain. He must also be familiar with various magical formulas, including those that allow him to control the energy released when the animal dies. Lack of control or mismanagement of this energy can have disastrous consequences, not only for himself but also for the entire village. The tremendous honour comes to the hunter when he kills the animals known as sogofin, i.e. predators, which are themselves hunters: lion, hyena and other wild cats.Young men, Kamalen Ton members choose puppets for each show. As a rule, they are the ones who choose to portray characters referring to the ethos of a hunter because qualities such as self-confidence, bravery and courage are very close to them. Thanks to the fame of a good and successful hunter, a young man can gain togo, namely, the name and reputation and surpass his father, with whom he always competes in this field. The gift from Oleńka Darkowska-Nidzgorska and Denis Nidzgorski-Gordier.

Ewa Prądzyńska