Abstract
(1) THE masked dances which are the ritual manifestation of the ancestor cult of the Dogon of the French Sudan have been made the subject of an elaborate study by M. Griaule. This study is based upon material collected in the course of three expeditions between 1931 and 1937. Although the Dogon all recognize and worship a supreme creating deity, the masks, and the dances in which they figure, and the ancestral cult with which they are associated, take a much more prominent place in their daily life and thought. Of the ancestral spirits, some are regarded as immortal, while others, who belong to the time after death appeared on the earth, are held to be mortal. From the relations to the immortal ancestors, who have returned to exercise a protective function over their descendants, has originated a totemic cult; while the cult of the masks and the dances in which they are used is directed to those of the ancestors who have suffered death.
(1) Masques Dogons
Par M. Griaule. (Université de Paris: Travaux et Mémoires de l'lnstitut d'Ethnologio, Tome 33.) Pp. x+896+32 plates. (Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938.) 275 francs.
(2) Jeux Dogons
Par M. Griaule. (Université de Paris : Travaux et Mémoires de l'lnstitut d'Ethnologie, Tome 32.) Pp. viii+290+12 plates. (Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1938.) 87.50 francs.
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 144, 738 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144738c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144738c0