This very old Dogon sanctuary door is carved with five rows of nommo figures. Those rows symbolize a strong magic and spiritual force, usually reserved for the binu sanctuary (see picture). This force is then, according to beliefs' animists of Dogon, imparted to the door. In the Dogon myth of the creation of the Earth, the amma god bore a being figure known as nommo (the nommo anagonno, symbolized by a fish). This nommo gave birth to four couples of nommo, considered as the eight ancestors of the mankind and the four elements.

The construction of this sanctuary door, the austere and traditional style, as well as a dense and very eroded wood, make this exceptional piece, impressed of nobleness, one of the greatest Dogon sculptures.
18^th / 19^th century.

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