DOGON RITUAL DAGGERS

Pair, bronze with male and female figural hilts and integral 4 ½” and 5” double-edged blades. The hilts finely modeled as male and female figures, surely ancestors. The Dogon live in clan villages along the Bandiagara Escarpment. As a result of their isolation, sheltered by the mountains, they were largely preserved from the predation of slavers. Similarly, their traditional religion largely survived the conversion to Islam and Christianity. Ancestor worship is fundamental. The Gods and the favor they can bring are communicated through prayers to ancestors. As well, seers (kumogu), herbalist healers (dyodyonune) and sorcerers (dyonune) who cast spells. Attend specific needs. These figures represent an ancestor couple. Their incorporation into daggers has a spiritual significance lost to us. They are contained in their finely crafted scabbards, each of which has a double securing loop, likely for a specific ritual, requiring that device. Both are well used throughout and demonstrate the best of Dogon bronze sculpting. Pair.