Sirige masqueraders during the Dama ceremony, Sanga region, Mali

"The Dama rite of passage takes place over a six day period. The second day is Gondenu, the day of dancing, and is organized in three phases, the separation, the liminal, and the reintegration. The reintegration phase resolves the conflicts and re-establishes order. The kanaga and sirige are paired in this phase and create a symbolism of the balanced pairing of male and female aspects. The sirige mask is associated with the male division of three, and Dogon cosmogony defines the number three as representative of male qualities." [Harris M., 1989: Visual tropes: The Kanaga Mask of the Dogon People of West Africa, Yale University]. During his trip to Mali, Elisofon visited the Dogon people in Sanga (Sangha), a group of thirteen villages lying east of Bandiagara at the top of an escarpment. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for National Geographic and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.