sogoba (Rod Puppet)

A mobile stage is covered with cloths, concealing the men inside, who move the stage across the dance area. Fitted in front with a wooden animal head (antelope or bush buffalo) mask, the stage itself is a large animal puppet. The performances are organized by the village youth organizations, kamalen ton. Sogobò is organized into a series of up to twenty discrete performances separated by short intervals of song and dance. Puppet ensembles include balanin fola (small rod puppets), merekun (large rod puppets), Yayoroba (beautiful women), and maani (smaller figurative forms). The puppet heads or figures poke out from the top of the cloth frame, and are made to twirl and dance as they tower above the stage. The puppets and masks depict animals, fantastic creatures, hunters and characters from village life. Short performances focus on themes of family and village rivalry, jealously and unity, as well as masculine values and their identification with hunters. Bamana farmers and Bozo fishermen participate together in these performances now, but the oral tradition suggests puppet theater originated with the Bozo.

Tchuemegne purchased these 20th century Sogobò puppets, textiles and frames (3420/79-100) from Mr. Amadou Fantasa, an elder from the village of Markala in central Mali, in 2019. Fantasa recalled that the puppets had been used in the biannual festivals marking the beginning of the rainy season (June), and related agricultural and fishing activities, and at the start of the dry season (Oct) to signal the coming of the grain harvest. He said the puppets had been in use from 2012-2016, but after that they were in storage. The "coming forth of the masks and puppets in Markala", frequently refered to as "Marakala Sogobò" or "Dobò", is now inscibed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Large antelope puppet head, with very tall horns. Head of animal puppet (part a) with two small antelope headdress carvings (parts b-c) that attach to the tops of the horns, and a separate manipulation stick (part d). The head is painted bright orange, with green markings, and a large white diamond design centre of the forehead. The two stylized wooden antelope headdress have elongated head and horns, all covered with incised line patterns, and dwarfed legs. The manipulation stick is roughly shaped with a hole horizontally through the rectangular end.