“…Among them, three are ritual objects from the Dogon culture. The five other artifacts are boliw (in the singular: boli ), which are among the most important sacred objects from the Bamana culture . All these artifacts have been collected in the first half of the 20th century during ethnological missions, except one of the boliw (inventory no.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The five other artifacts are boliw (in the singular: boli), which are among the most important sacred objects from the Bamana culture. 7 All these artifacts have been collected in the first half of the 20th century during ethnological missions, except one of the boliw (inventory no. 73.1967.6.1) which Microsamples were removed from the surface of the objects with a clean scalpel blade.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Many substances are used, each product having its religious meaning and importance. Among these, blood is often reported in different religious contexts, , linked to animal sacrifices. Confirmation of the presence of blood would be very meaningful.…”
A new protocol is implemented to demonstrate the presence of blood in the patina of African art objects from Mali. Divided into three steps, the protocol first consists in demonstrating the presence of proteins and localizing them in the sample's cross sections using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and synchrotron-based infrared microspectrometry (µFT-IR). In a second time, TOF-SIMS is used to investigate heme, which is a blood marker. If heme is missing, which could mean that it is too degraded to be detected, X-ray microfluorescence (µXRF) and X-ray absorption near-edge microspectroscopy (µXANES) are used to prove the presence of iron in the protein area and to get a fingerprint of its chemical environment. This permits us thus to demonstrate that iron is indeed linked with proteins and not with mineral phases of the sample. Coupled with the ritual context of the objects, this constitutes a proof of the use of blood. Thanks to this protocol, which has the major advantage of avoiding false positive results, the presence of blood has been demonstrated in seven out of the eight studied samples.African art objects collected in the course of colonial or ethnological expeditions during the 20th century represent unique and very precious material testimony of values and practices, which have in some cases totally disappeared today. Numbers of these objects, which are now parts of the collections of art or ethnologic museums, are partially or completely covered with a so-called "patina". Indeed, different substances were spread out on the objects during religious and ritual ceremonies. 1 Various examples of such patinas in African statuary come from different ethnic groups like the Baoule in Ivory Coast, 1 Lobi in BurkinaFaso, 2 Fang in Gabon, but also Bambara and Dogon in Mali. 3,4 Some of these patinas are constituted by materials which have become solid on the object's surface, like a more or less thick crust.The bibliographic references come from ethnologic studies, such as the very important work of Marcel Griaule 5,6 who has collected a large number of ritual objects associated with very precious accounts about traditional beliefs of the Dogon. A better understanding of these patinas could explain details of the practices used during centuries throughout ceremonies. An important challenge is to extract unequivocal information about the original constituents of these patinas and the techniques used for their applications on ritual objects. Many substances are used, each product having its religious meaning and importance. Among these, blood is often reported in different religious contexts, 7,8 linked to animal sacrifices. Confirmation of the presence of blood would be very meaningful.In a previous paper, we described an original analytical protocol based on chemical imaging techniques to study patinas from African statues. 9 The protocol permitted us to study both the mineral and the organic parts of a sample without extraction of
“…Among them, three are ritual objects from the Dogon culture. The five other artifacts are boliw (in the singular: boli ), which are among the most important sacred objects from the Bamana culture . All these artifacts have been collected in the first half of the 20th century during ethnological missions, except one of the boliw (inventory no.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The five other artifacts are boliw (in the singular: boli), which are among the most important sacred objects from the Bamana culture. 7 All these artifacts have been collected in the first half of the 20th century during ethnological missions, except one of the boliw (inventory no. 73.1967.6.1) which Microsamples were removed from the surface of the objects with a clean scalpel blade.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Many substances are used, each product having its religious meaning and importance. Among these, blood is often reported in different religious contexts, , linked to animal sacrifices. Confirmation of the presence of blood would be very meaningful.…”
A new protocol is implemented to demonstrate the presence of blood in the patina of African art objects from Mali. Divided into three steps, the protocol first consists in demonstrating the presence of proteins and localizing them in the sample's cross sections using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and synchrotron-based infrared microspectrometry (µFT-IR). In a second time, TOF-SIMS is used to investigate heme, which is a blood marker. If heme is missing, which could mean that it is too degraded to be detected, X-ray microfluorescence (µXRF) and X-ray absorption near-edge microspectroscopy (µXANES) are used to prove the presence of iron in the protein area and to get a fingerprint of its chemical environment. This permits us thus to demonstrate that iron is indeed linked with proteins and not with mineral phases of the sample. Coupled with the ritual context of the objects, this constitutes a proof of the use of blood. Thanks to this protocol, which has the major advantage of avoiding false positive results, the presence of blood has been demonstrated in seven out of the eight studied samples.African art objects collected in the course of colonial or ethnological expeditions during the 20th century represent unique and very precious material testimony of values and practices, which have in some cases totally disappeared today. Numbers of these objects, which are now parts of the collections of art or ethnologic museums, are partially or completely covered with a so-called "patina". Indeed, different substances were spread out on the objects during religious and ritual ceremonies. 1 Various examples of such patinas in African statuary come from different ethnic groups like the Baoule in Ivory Coast, 1 Lobi in BurkinaFaso, 2 Fang in Gabon, but also Bambara and Dogon in Mali. 3,4 Some of these patinas are constituted by materials which have become solid on the object's surface, like a more or less thick crust.The bibliographic references come from ethnologic studies, such as the very important work of Marcel Griaule 5,6 who has collected a large number of ritual objects associated with very precious accounts about traditional beliefs of the Dogon. A better understanding of these patinas could explain details of the practices used during centuries throughout ceremonies. An important challenge is to extract unequivocal information about the original constituents of these patinas and the techniques used for their applications on ritual objects. Many substances are used, each product having its religious meaning and importance. Among these, blood is often reported in different religious contexts, 7,8 linked to animal sacrifices. Confirmation of the presence of blood would be very meaningful.In a previous paper, we described an original analytical protocol based on chemical imaging techniques to study patinas from African statues. 9 The protocol permitted us to study both the mineral and the organic parts of a sample without extraction of
“…Some hunters will carry a variety of small, portable fetishes that will enable them to approach animals more easily, and that they can reward on the spot with the blood of the prey they just killed. Well hidden in the hunters’ pockets, the fetishes of the donso hunters are smaller versions of power objects that are diffused throughout Mande Africa (Brett-Smith 1983; Colleyn 2004; Kedzierska-Manzon 2013). They are believed capable of interacting with humans if addressed and rewarded with the right procedures, constituting a form of highly specialized gendered knowledge (Royer 1996:253), which is normally surrounded by discretion.Figure 3.Closeup of the author’s hunting shirt after ten months of apprenticeship, including whistle, amulets, and a bundle of rope.…”
Section: The Powerful Shirt: Materiality and Concealmentmentioning
Abstract:This article looks at the characteristic shirts of the donso, or initiated Mande hunters. Often described in the literature as visual displays of the wearer’s power, in the context of contemporary Burkina Faso these shirts are instead an example of how hunters deal with representations of power through an aesthetics of concealment (Ferme 2001). An excess of display is conversely connected with the politics of state-recognized hunters’ associations. Issues of ecological change, local conceptions of power, and contemporary struggles with state authority intersect in the practices and discourses on hunters’ shirts.
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