Children's bracelet with pendant

The children's bracelet, a rare type of amulet that a child wore on the wrist, is made up of many different parts threaded onto a cotton cord: an iron link, glass and stone beads of different sizes and colours, kauri shells and a larger shell. Each part of the bracelet has its own significance. These include the dugo (also called duge), which is a spiritual support for the wearer, a material embodiment of the bond with supernatural forces, and a sign of alliance between a human and ancestor. Dugo can take the form of a small stone, a glass bead, an iron ring or link, or a coin hung around the neck or wrist. They are inspired by nyama - the life force of the ancestors. They connect dugo-wearing women, men and children with the recently deceased, from whom they have inherited nana (reincarnation). The Dogon believe that after a person's physical death, their nana is passed on to their conceived or newborn offspring - women receive the nana of female ancestors and men receive the nana of male ancestors. Dugo is a sign of agreement and mutual obligation between ancestor and descendant. They guarantee the fulfilment of a request made by a person to supernatural forces. There is a danger that the power contained in it can turn against people if they fail to fulfil obligations to their ancestors. The power filling dugo is usually meant to protect the wearer, ensuring health, fertility and prosperity, while the wearer of dugo is obliged to revive the memory of the ancestor and nourish his/her spiritual strength.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron

The children's bracelet, a rare type of amulet that a child wore on the wrist, is made up of many different parts threaded onto a cotton cord: an iron link, glass and stone beads of different sizes and colours, kauri shells and a larger shell. Each part of the bracelet has its own significance. These include the dugo (also called duge), which is a spiritual support for the wearer, a material embodiment of the bond with supernatural forces, and a sign of alliance between a human and ancestor. Dugo can take the form of a small stone, a glass bead, an iron ring or link, or a coin hung around the neck or wrist. They are inspired by nyama - the life force of the ancestors. They connect dugo-wearing women, men and children with the recently deceased, from whom they have inherited nana (reincarnation). The Dogon believe that after a person's physical death, their nana is passed on to their conceived or newborn offspring - women receive the nana of female ancestors and men receive the nana of male ancestors. Dugo is a sign of agreement and mutual obligation between ancestor and descendant. They guarantee the fulfilment of a request made by a person to supernatural forces. There is a danger that the power contained in it can turn against people if they fail to fulfil obligations to their ancestors. The power filling dugo is usually meant to protect the wearer, ensuring health, fertility and prosperity, while the wearer of dugo is obliged to revive the memory of the ancestor and nourish his/her spiritual strength.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron