Support Post (Toguna)

Arts of Africa

Early/mid–20th century

Dogon
Mali
Northern Africa and the Sahel

At least one togu na (meaning “great shelter”) can be found in every Dogon village, functioning as a meeting place for the male elders of the community. The togu na is an open structure consisting of a thatched roof supported by a series of vertical posts. The posts, such as this one, are generally carved to depict females or, as is the case here, males that, through the representation of exaggerated genitalia, symbolize fertility and therefore the future of Dogon society. This post, like most, is about five and a half feet tall, and the low-hanging roof would typically require the men to sit when inside. This important architectural element therefore embodies the values of secrecy, community, and shelter that are important to Dogon culture.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Dogon
Title: Support Post (Toguna)
Place: Mali (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1900–1975
Medium: Wood
Dimensions: 165.1 × 40.6 × 20.3 cm (65 × 16 × 8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman
Reference Number: 2007.570

William S. Lieberman, An American Choice: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg/Newman Collection (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1981), p. 150 (ill.).
Hélène Leloup, Dogon (Paris: Musée du quai Branly; Somogy, 2011), p. 73 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, African Abstraction: Dogon Figurative Sculpture, July 3- Oct. 20, 1996, no cat.

Hélène Leloup, Paris, France, 1957 [collected in situ, see photo in Leloup 2011, p. 73]. Muriel Kallis Newman, Chicago, Ill., before 1981; given to the Art Institute, 2007.

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