Object Details
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Collection Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Collection Citation
Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Scope and Contents
"The Dogon believe that after death, the spirit of the deceased is not immediately transformed into an ancestor. It is when in this state that a person's spirit can be most malevolent and dangerous. Funerals, bago bundo, which are held several weeks, and sometimes months, after burial, are public rites at which agnatic and affinal kin venerate the life and actions of the deceased." [Lane P., 1988: Settlement as History: A Study of Space and Time among the Dogon of Mali. University of Cambridge.] The photograph depicts men firing blank charges during mock battles intended to guide the spirit of the deceased onto the path to the afterlife. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.
sova.eepa.1973-001_ref29725
Local Numbers
EENG-XII-4, 10.
General
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note
Typed index card reads, "G 1 Dgn. Dogon. Mali, Sanga. Men shooting off blank charges to drive away spirits on the day after a man's death. 10/1959. EE. neg.no. XII-4, 10." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Place
Africa
Mali
Topic
Cultural landscapes
Rites and ceremonies -- Africa
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Culture
Dogon (African people)
See more items in
Eliot Elisofon Field collection
Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Mali
Extent
1 Negatives (photographic) (b&w, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches.)
Date
1959
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EENG 02642
Type
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Collection Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. Where noted, some images remain under the copyright of Life/Shutterstock. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Collection Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
EEPA.1973-001_ref29725
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo7c9fe386d-9a58-4541-bd71-2c4d86b2d380
EEPA.1973-001
EEPA
Record ID
ebl-1536870822481-1536871014862-3