Divination set

The presented divination set consists of four anthropomorphic figures, which most probably represent Dogon ancestors. The diviner uses them when contacting the world of spirits - deceased ancestors - to learn about the future or determine the cause of misfortune or illness. The figures are depicted schematically. They all have their faces covered with their hands. It is a gesture that appears on objects of Dogon art, such as full-figure ancestor figures and reliefs that decorate granary doors or wooden containers. It is believed that the sculptures presented with this gesture may be representations of the mythical Dyougou Serou. According to Dagon mythology, the first pair of humans gave eight ancestors - four males and four females. Dyougou Serou (Dyungo Seru), together with Amma Serou, Lebe Serou and Binou Serou is one of the eight ancestors and one of the four brothers who married their four twin sisters. From them were born eighty descendants who populated the whole Earth. According to the myth, Dyougou Serou was a hunter and healer associated with Yurugu, one of the first gods created by the creator Amma, who destroyed the world's order by committing an incestuous act with his mother Earth. At the instigation of Yurugu Dyougou, Serou stole land from the sacred field and began to cultivate the forbidden fonio seed (Digitaria exilis). The act was punished, and the ancestor died. Death first affected man and spread throughout the Dogon country. One interpretation is that the gesture of covering the face is meant to symbolise the sense of guilt and shame that Dyougou Serou felt by disobedience to the creator Amma. Another links it to the ancestor Lebe Serou, who, according to Dogon beliefs, is linked to the institution of divination. Covering one's face, in this case, means that one must close oneself off to the visible world to see the future.

Katarzyna Findlik-Gawron