TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities "Altering The Way You View The World Of Art" |
Type of Object:
Ethnic Group:
- Bamana Tji Wara
- Meticulously hand carved from indigenous wood, these
remarkable sculptures are often referred to as a Tji-wara
headdress. The vertical design of this pair indicates they
originated from the Eastern Bamana region.
Tji Wara or Tji Waras are "danced" twice a year, for the
planting, and again after the agricultural cycle to honor the
best farmer in the village.
The antelope represents the mythical character who taught
the Bambara how to grown grain and cultivate the land. The
horn is a symbol of the millet's growth. The structural and
carved zigzag designs represent the sun's movement from
east to west.
- Bamana males were required to pass through a series of
the six consecutive initiation societies known as the Dyow
that were designed to assure their grasp of anscestrial
traditions, each level being associated with the use of
specific zoomorphic masks.
The well known Chi Wara mask or antelope headdress was
worn by the Tji Wara or fifth society, whose dances were
performed to ensure the success of the village crops. Chi
Waras always appeared in a male / female pair at the
beginning and end of the agricultural cycles to symbolize the
sun and earth, a tradition that continues even today. The
structural and carved zigzag designs represent the sun’s
movement from east to west.
This presentation is exceptional representing a male,
female, and female with young and is a great example of the
Bamana art.
Ethnic Group:
- Bamana Society
- Mali
- Wood , cotton theard balls, brass, animal fur
- male - 38 " tall by 11' across
female - 36" tall x 8" across
