These bronze and brass figures created by Dogon blacksmiths are identified with the myths as the blacksmith was one of the primordial beings know to the Dogon as Nommo, and created by Ama one of the important Dogon dieties.
This relationship between the blacksmith and the Nommo gives the blacksmith special powers such as the ability to call down rain, a very important aspect to Dogon life. A figure wrought in metal is not a simple abstraction if the smith that forged it is believed to have descended directly from his remote predecessor who brought the secret of ironmaking down from heaven itself.
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