Antelope dance crest "chiwara" / "tjiwara" / "ci-wara" · Mali, Bamana · ID: 3050303
Description
wood, two-piece, metal, rest., base
The “tji wara” society members use a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the mythical being who taught men how to farm. The word “tji” means work and “wara” means animal, thus “working animal.”
The purpose of the “tji wara” association was to encourage cooperation among all members of the community to ensure a successful crop.
They also perform at farming contests that recognize a champion farmer. Always performing together in a male and female pair, the coupling of the antelope masqueraders speaks of fertility and agricultural abundance.
The object Antelope dance crest “chiwara” / “tjiwara” / “ci-wara” with the object ID 3050303 was last part of the auction 101st Auction at November 11, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 197.
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Comparing literature
Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 204 f