Wild Silk Textiles of the Dogon of Mali: The Production, Material Efficacy, and Cultural Significance of Sheen

Abstract

This article examines wild silk woven wrappers of the Dogon of Mali. These luxury cloths called tombe toun that are worn and valued by Dogon women for their sheen embody prestige for ceremonies as well as they act as a material identity and a form of meta-language. In this article, I discuss the indigenous concept of sheen as expressed through the production and usages of wild silk wrappers. I show that from a Dogon point of view, sheen mainly refers to a living force called daoula inherent to wild silk. daoula as a kind of “aura” of the textile embraces the medicinal and magic properties of wild silk but also its durability, strength and material brilliance. These are drawn out of the cocoons and threads by use of technical transformative processes and through wearing the wrapper, which acts as a marker of social visibility and of which daoula empowers the wearer. I suggest that the cultural significance attached to Dogon wild silk material and textiles that symbolize Dogon social values such as personal worth, wealth, and social status, rests on the particular materiality of sheen and therefore the efficacy of this animal secreted material.