Dolo, a blacksmith and woodcarver, with his son Samuel, carving a Kanaga mask, Ogol du Haut village, Mali

The photograph depicts Dolo, the blacksmith and wood carver of Ogol du Haut village, and his son Samuel using traditional adze to make a Kanaga mask. "Dogon masks are carved from the wood of male trees, a practice consistent with the association of the Awa society, masks, and Dama performances, with men. Wood from the togolo tree (Bumbax buonopozente) is most often used for the masks, and it is characterized by a red sap that oozes from its cut surfaces. When the carving is complete, the masks are prevented from drying by applications of sesame oil, and are painted with pigments from natural sources." [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. The most important villages are Ogol-du-Haut and Ogol-du-Bas. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.