'Sogo Bo' Animal Mask with Instructional Figure

Origin: Bambarra Tribe, Mali
Composition: wood, old lacquer paint, cotton textiles

Sogo bo, the puppet masquerade drama of the Bamana, is an exploration of the moral universe. The largest group of masquerade characters and the oldest performed in the theater are bush animals. In Bamana communities, the bush is defined as the domain of men and the interpretation of the theater's bush animal characters are informed by beliefs and values associated with hunting and with hunters as men of action and society's heroes.

Over the last decades, at the same time that the actual area of uncultivated land has constricted and the number of hunters have diminished, the definition of the bush and the nature of the hunter/hero have been extended to other arenas of endeavor. In the Sogo bo theater, bush animal masquerades remain important precisely because they are richly drawn and complex metaphors through which to explore the nature of knowledge and power [and] the relationship of the individual to the group.

The Bamana have developed a unique form of community theater, called cheko. Here the marionettes and other puppets appear as well as masterfully carved masks in colorful costumes. With each new cheko, there are new masks, new characters.

The actors in cheko performances are colorful, animated puppets—some are small hand puppets, others are large requiring two people to maneuver them. The mythical figures appear as parts of these new masks. Well over 20 masquerades might be played in one evening event. The masquerades are voiceless and they are accompanied by drumming and by songs performed by a lead singer and women's chorus. Troupes creatively exploit the full spectrum of arts—masquerades, dances, drumming, and songs—to construct the dramatic characters in the fictional world of Sogo bò.... read more!