African art, masks and artifacts of the Dogon.
The Dogon are an agrarian people of about 600,000 who live in the
west African country of Mali and Burkina Faso. The Dogon are among
the most famous iron workers in Africa. In earlier times, Dogon
craftsmen had perfected methods of refining iron ore into steel, and
Dogon blacksmiths were renowned for their skillfully made tools and
weapons. Much of the ore refinement operations are gone now from
Dogon society, the artisans relying instead on scrap steel salvaged
from junk cars and railroads.
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