A “toguna” (or palaver hut) is a public building erected by the Dogon people in the West African country of Mali. Togunas are usually located in the center of the village. Togunas are built with a very low roof, with the express purpose of forcing visitors to sit rather than stand.
In practice, the toguna is used as a general gathering spot, offering shade with its thick thatched roof, where the village elders spend the hottest hours of the day talking with each other, discussing problems of the community, but can also serve as a place for customary law.
This “Toguna” house is decorated with relief carvings of ritual dance masks.
