A Pair of antelope dance crests "tijwara" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3034602
Georges Frederick Keller, Paris, France
Didier Claes, Brussels, Belgium
Description
wood, blackish brown patina, male/female, the bodies large in size, modelled in a rather naturalistic manner, fine grooved backswept horns, the heads attached with metal clamps; the female animal with red fibre tassels in nose and ears, old collection number “G.F.K. 26” and “HC 60” at the back of the base, marked with a “6” on the inside; the male animal at the same place marked with the old collection number “G.F.K.25” and “HC 80”, incised “5” on the inside; female animal: rep. (breakage in the middle of body and base), rep. (left horn tip), minor missing parts (ear tips); male animal: rep. (on the left side of the head a piece of wood inserted and fixed by metal clamp), rep. (breakages at the base), supplemented (left hint leg), socles;
the religious and social life of the Bamana people was determined by six initiation communities. Each level of initiation was represented by a special mask type. The “tijwara” headdress belongs to the fifth level. Its members had to encourage a good harvest by celebrating their masquerades.The masks used to appear in pairs male-female, symbolizing the sun and the earth and their meaning for human life.