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Dogon granary shutter This granary shutter is carved of various iconographic registers. One notices two « sun lizards », a snake ( lebe , the first hogon ) and a water tortoise (symbol of fertility, and guardian of the ginna lineage). The rectangle symbolizes « the pond », one the symbols associated with Dogon cosmogony, and the chevrons on the left the fertilizing rain (and the course of the nommo when they fall on the earth).
Animal representations across a shutter symbolize their collective magical strength ; strength which the Dogon believe is then imparted to the shutter. Origin : Mali (Kani Kombole area)
Type : Architectural components
Ethnic group : Dogon
Material : Thick wood with a deep brown patina Dogon granary shutter This very old small shutter was placed midway up the granary wall. It provided access, throughout the year following harvests, to the goods stored inside (millet, sorghum, rice, corn). The Dogon granaries are narrow, four-sided or round, with a structure made of wood and covered with cob, and generally a thatch roof or a terrace roof (see picture).
The chevrons symbolize the lebe snake, as well as the rain. The central motif represents the origin of the universe, and the four primordial | |
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