Legends, Sorcerers, and Enchanted Lizards: Door Locks of the Bamana of Mali

Pascal James Imperato. Legends, Sorcerers, and Enchanted Lizards: Door Locks of the Bamana of Mali. New York: Africana Publishing Company, 2001. xxv + 93 pages. Maps. Photographs. Bibliography. $50.00. Cloth. $30.00. Paper.

Legends, Sorcerers, and Enchanted Lizards is an excellent contribution to African art and more specifically to the art of the Bamana and their neighbors, the Dogon and the Bwa. The book is an impressive addition to the list of publications by Pascal lmperato, physician, ethnographer, and art historian. What makes this work exceptional is not just the breadth and depth of the research and analysis but also the fact that it addresses an area of art that has received little attention in the past: Bamana door locks and their religious, cultural, and practical implications. Imperato's devotion to the study of door locks, his personal collection of these, and the exploration of their contextual meanings come at a critical time since they have almost disappeared from the regions where they once were so abundant. Only the author's nearly four decades of collection, fieldtrips, and interviews, to say nothing of his deep respect, interest, and understanding of the Bamana, could have made this work possible.

Following introductory contextual comments, Imperato's study is divided into three well-organized parts, each replete with Bamana concepts (though many of these are transcribed in the old-fashioned French way of the 1960s), beautifully illustrated with photographs and sketches. In the first section, titled "The Bamana World," the author does a superb job of providing the reader with a synthesis that weaves together classic and contemporary literature on the subject in a manner accessible even to the novice in African art. This section offers a rich overview of Bamana society and culture: social structure (endogamous groups, family structure, age groups, gender relations), the economy, and the most important concept that underlies everything Bamana: Bamanaya, (i.e., the Bamana way of life). Bamanaya derives from the Bamana myth of creation and affects every aspect of Bamana life. Imperato demonstrates how this myth affects Bamana conceptualization of locks as well as all other forms of art. The author explains regional variations of Bamanaya and theorizes how these may have contributed to variations in religious beliefs and practices across time and space or have been influenced by external forces such as Islam and French colonialism.

The second section of the book describes the religious and spiritual character of portals, doors, and locks, together with the symbolism attached to doors: In the past, for example, newly married women received complete doors or parts of them in their marriage trousseaux. The author explains that the doors and locks not only constitute physical barriers against intruders, but that they also have spiritual powers. The sacrificial offerings smeared by owners on the external surfaces and the religious objects hanging above or interred near the structures contribute to their spiritual powers. The architectonics of the sculpted locks, the author argues, augment their power to fend off sorcery and other malevolent forces. Functionality, spirituality, and other philosophical dimensions of the Bamana fuse in the whole complex surrounding the door. For example, in the Beledugu, where this writer grew up, a general Bamana belief is that the uncircumcised boy, the bilakoro, is not only immune to, but also neutralizes, nyama, the primordial energy. One of the Beledugu terms used for a traditional lock key is bilakorosen (literally, "the foot of the uncircumcised"), implying that the person using such a device to open the door is protected from the nyama of the door. In addition, one reason that door height may not reach six feet is to force people coming to a compound to bow in respect to the ancestors guarding the portals. This section of the book also discusses the role of the blacksmith in the manufacture of the door complex, as well as the direct and indirect effects of Islam and colonialism in erasing this art form from Bamana culture.

The last section of the book is a catalog of sixty-four Bamana locks, four complete Bamana doors, ten Dogon locks, and two Bwa locks. For each figure there is information about the locks' height in inches and centimeters, the complete dimension for the doors, and the symbolic, religious, spiritual, and metaphorical meanings associated with the figure as well as its area of provenance. The author also explains the mechanics of the locking device and describes the original colors of the object (the illustrations are in black and white). While the Dogon and Bwa locks are less prominant in the catalog than those of the Bamana, the author offers evidence that door locks among these groups, especially among the Dogon, also represent concepts of their cosmogony.

I strongly recommend Legends, Sorcerers and Enchanted Lizards for people interested in African art, social structure, and religion. Not only does it introduce the reader to basic Bamana beliefs, but it is also a guide to how religion, spirituality, aesthetics, and functionality cannot be divorced from the forms of African art.