Table

The table is an example of art made especially for tourists and collectors of African art. Being considered one of the most original, Dogon art has gained enormous popularity, and its creations can be found not only in Mali but also abroad. The table was bought in the Ivory Coast.The Dogon have never used (and still do not use) similar tables. The furnishings of their homesteads and houses are very modest. In the man's room (dembere) there is an elevation covered with a mat, leather or blanket which serves as a bed. Planks are also used for sleeping or sitting. The recently popular metal boxes bought from Mopti or Bandiagar stand in dembere, and Ginna bana stores his possessions in them as the family's patriarch. Other items and clothing are hung on pegs attached to the walls, while smaller items are hidden in calabash containers or hung on the wall.In an average house, one can find numerous wooden stools and large clay pots for storing water. The water in such pots is much chillier than in plastic or metal containers available in the Dogon country for many years. The Dogon women make sure that water is always available in the house even at night because the house is visited by their ancestors who feel thirsty like their living descendants. A vital element of each homestead is a wooden staircase (bilu) made from a single tree trunk, allowing access to granaries and terraces of houses. The kitchens are equipped with tarsiers, stone querns, a stone hearth, and various earthenware, wooden and calabash dishes. Despite the availability of plastic and metal containers and utensils, all the objects mentioned above and vessels are still made and used by the Dogon in the traditional way.

Ewa Prądzyńska