ABSTRACT
The act of masking within Ndomo rituals and in Sogo bo masquerade play inaugurates formal and informal processes that lead to a boy's acquisition of social knowledge of self and others. The very aesthetic judgments rendered about the mastery of expressive skills necessary for successful masquerading are related to wider Bamana concerns for control and mastery of self through the mastery of one's body in every other domain of production. The Sogo bo masquerades, which are performed under the auspices of the association, are defined by the community as entertainments and play. While the boys understand that the rites, the mask and the various emblems are sacred, they do not fully comprehend Ndomo's complex symbolism. Sacrifices can also be made over the group's Ndomo mask and over each class's sacred emblems. Some boys also own scaled-down versions of wooden masks that are used in the adult Sogo bo theater.
