A Dogon Plank scuplture

In the sculptural tradition of the Dogon people of Mali, the motif of a human figure with arms raised toward the sky carries deep spiritual and cosmological meaning. These figures are among the most iconic representations in Dogon art and are often interpreted as symbolic gestures that link the human world with the divine. The upward-reaching arms are not simply a dramatic pose but a gesture of prayer, invocation, and communication with the heavens.

Marcel Griaule, who conducted extensive fieldwork among the Dogon in the 1930s and 1940s, interpreted these raised arms as an appeal to Amma, the supreme creator god. According to Griaule, the gesture is an act of supplication and reverence, a call for divine attention or blessing. In his analysis, the figure’s posture reflects a moment of spiritual openness and the desire to receive rain, fertility, health, or guidance from the divine realm. The raised arms point skyward, establishing a direct axis between the earth and the cosmos.

Germaine Dieterlen, Griaule’s close collaborator and an authority in her own right on Dogon cosmology, deepened this interpretation by emphasizing the cosmic dimension of the gesture. In their joint work, particularly in "Le Renard pâle," she describes the raised arms as a symbolic connection between the terrestrial and celestial worlds. The gesture is not just a moment of prayer, but a visual metaphor for the alignment of the human body with the forces of the universe. It embodies the idea of humans as intermediaries between the seen and unseen worlds, rooted in the earth but striving toward the sky.

Some interpretations also suggest that the raised arms evoke the primordial ancestor or the first human being, rising from the earth and reaching toward the heavens in a gesture of spiritual awakening. In this sense, the gesture becomes an emblem of rebirth or transformation. It can also be associated with specific ritual contexts such as funeral rites, where the deceased is believed to ascend to the spiritual realm. Sculptures with raised arms may thus be part of altars or ancestral shrines, serving as vehicles for memory, veneration, and cosmic order.

In Dogon thought, every gesture and form carries layered meaning, and the raised arms are no exception. They are a statement of faith, of connection, and of the human longing for transcendence. Through the works of Griaule and Dieterlen, these figures have been understood not simply as artistic creations, but as powerful expressions of Dogon cosmology—where art, ritual, and belief are deeply interwoven.