Lock and latch

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis lock may have been used to secure the door to a granary, a building used to store millet, the staple food of the Dogon.WHERE WAS IT MADE?The Dogon people live in Mali, on the West coast of Africa.HOW WAS IT MADE?Dogon blacksmiths carve locks from the hard and durable wood of the toro tree. After carving, the blacksmith etches the surface using the tip of a heated cutting knife, and blackens certain areas with a hot iron. Finally, he applies a solution made from the seedpods of the bagana (acacia) tree in order to keep the charred surface from peeling.HOW WAS IT USED?The Dogon use locks to secure the doors to granaries, vestibules, houses, and chicken coops. This lock was probably used on a granary door; house locks tend to be larger and are less commonly collected.Dogon door locks are composed of three parts: a vertical beam called ta koro (the only extant portion of this lock); a horizontal beam which slides back and forth called a ta dagu; and the key called a ta i. The blacksmith carves both the vertical and horizontal beams, and uses metal to create the locking mechanism (metal prongs suspended from a shelf in the back of the vertical beam). These metal prongs fall into matching holes in the horizontal beam. The key contains metal pins embedded perpendicularly on one side, which match the holes in the horizontal beam and the locking pins in the vertical beam. The prongs from the key lift the vertical beam’s locking pins, thus unlocking the horizontal beam.WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS?The Dogon view the door lock in gendered terms. The hollowed vertical beam represents the female and the horizontal beam stands for the male part. Their intersecting forms suggest sexual intercourse. The lock may also play with androgyny (a common attribute of Dogon sculpted couples). The vertical beam (the female part of the lock) has metal prongs that fit into holes in the horizontal beam (the male part of the lock).Carved locks have become rare in Dogon country due to the spread of Islam and its prohibition of figurative decoration. The international art market and the thieves who sometimes supply it has also contributed to the declined use of elaborately carved doors and locks. Padlocks and unadorned homemade locks have largely replaced older sculpted locks. The more recent locks retain the traditional structure, but feature only a simple lozenge shape at the top at best.To see another Dogon door lock in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object number 91.001.025 in the keyword search box.