THE IMAGINARY WORLD OF THE SOGO Bò PUPPET MASQUERADES
Mary Jo Arnoldi, Curator Africa
Department of Anthropology
The Smithsonian Institution

Sogo bò, the animals come forth, is a lively tradition of puppet masquerade performed throughout the Segou region in south central Mali. The majority of people in this region live in rural communities where their main economic activities are agriculture, cattle keeping, and fishing. The climate is semi-arid and the region has two seasons: a rainy and dry season. The rainy season begins in early June and lasts until September. The dry season begins in October and lasts through May. The Sogo bò festivals take place at the change of seasons in May/June or in September/October. In rural villages, the masquerade is intimately tied to the rhythm of the agricultural and fishing cycles and its timing within the year is expressly aimed at heightening, through artistic means, people's awareness of the change of seasons.

The Sogo bò masquerades date from the pre~colonial era and are organized under the auspices of local village youth associations. Four ethnic groups within Sogo bò perform the masquerades: the Boso and Somono, who are fishermen, and the Bamana and Maraka, who are farmers and traders. People's sense of the regional identity of the Sogo bò is based upon its origins within Segou, its multi-ethnic endorsement, its timing at the change of seasons, and the repertoire of masquerade characters who are considered unique to this theater.

Change and invention are hallmarks of the masquerade. Troupes draw upon an historical repertoire of characters and actively pursue the creation of new characters who can respond to contemporary issues and experiences. It is this dynamic intersection between tradition and innovation that gives the Sogo bò its immediacy and that allows this masquerade to remain relevant and popular in Mali's twenty-first century communities.!

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