” Dogon ” door, carved wood from Mali, 19th Century
This finely-carved shutter or door once adorned a Dogon granary, serving both to protect and sanctify the life-giving stores of food contained inside. According to Hélène Leloup (Dogon Statuary, Strasbourg, 1994, p. 487), rows of figures seen on Dogon granary doors represent patrilineal ancestors. The presence of male and female figures in the present example suggest the male-female duality which is central to Dogon origin myths; these primordial couples are the progenitors of humanity, the ideal compliments to one another, and the source of life.
