Lyon museum showcases Mali’s Sogo bò performance tradition
The exhibition brings together 110 objects and recreated characters to explore a cultural practice recognized by UNESCO since 2014.
An exhibition at Lyon’s Musée des Confluences is exploring Sogo bò, a centuries-old tradition from Mali that brings storytelling together with puppetry, masks, dance and music. Its 110 objects include donations from Sonia and Albert Loeb.
Visitors first encounter ten figures depicting the TON association, whose young members arrange village celebrations and greet guests. The displays then explore two settings, the river and the village, reflecting the tradition’s believed origins among the Bozo people along the Niger.
Communities in central-western Mali, especially those along the Niger River, practice Sogo bò as part of village life. Young people learn how to create and handle its puppets and masks, while women sing. Individual characters carry their own identities and convey community values and stories.
Costume designers from Lyon Opera used archival footage to recreate characters, including antelopes, with fabric and plant fibers. Sogo bò has been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2014. Mask and puppet festivals help sustain it in Mali, but insecurity, financial hardship and environmental changes are making cultural gatherings harder to organize.
