Sirige mask

The sirige mask, in the Sigi-so language awa danu, meaning mask of wood, represents the house of the head of a large family. The building is characterised by a facade with many small niches formed in it and a terrace from which one enters, among other things, rooms with altars dedicated to the ancestors of the family.Sirige, together with the four masks of będę (young girl), take part in the Baga bundo ceremony, which takes place on the second day after the death of the Dogon (sometimes sirige is replaced by kanagi). Death appeared in the world of the inhabitants of the Bandiagara Escarpment due to the fault of young men who disturbed the transformation of one of their ancestors into a snake, so each deceased person is given Baga bundo, which is a form of apology for the act whose consequences he has just suffered, and is also supposed to soothe his soul. The ritual takes place in a public square, where a funeral blanket symbolising the deceased is laid out. His body is already at rest in the burial place, guarded by his closest relatives. Accompanied by drums, four masked dancers będę dance around Mulono (the man who participated in two consecutive Sigi festivals) who supervises the rituals, then around the sirige mask. Finally, they stop at the corners of the blanket, kneel and hit the ground with stalks of millet. At this time, Mulono recites a long prayer in the Dogo-so language, while the sirige mask turns towards the blanket and leans forward twice touching the upper part of the mask to the ground on both sides of the blanket. After this tribute to the deceased, the masks move away and the family and neighbours gathered in the square dance and sing. Just before sunset, at the end of the ceremony, the hunters' dance takes place. Sirige, along with other Dogon masks, can also be seen on the occasion of the Dama funeral rituals ending the long period of mourning for the deceased.

Ewa Prądzyńska