Antelope dance crest "tijwara"
Description
wood, matt greyish brown patina with remains of black paint, metal tag eyes, miniature glass beads, horizontal type with long projecting horns, separate carved head fixed by metal clamps, as well as the ring-shaped projection on top, depicting a second antelope in highly stylized form, slightly dam., missing parts (left horn tip), rep. (right horn in two places, ring-shaped projection), traces of insect caused damage, abrasion of paint;
the carved antelopes are known as “tijwara” - “the beast who labors” (“tij”: work, “wara”: wild animal). They recall a fabulous being, half man, half animal, who in legendary past thaught man how to cultivate the earth. But as grain grew abundant, men began to waste it. “Tijwara"buried himself in the ground, and men, having lost him, carved a mask in his memory. These headdresses were in male and female pairs on basketry caps. The dancers were bent over forelegs of wooden sticks and were completely hidden by cloaks of plant fibre. The central meaning of “tijwara” originally was to encourage the collective farming of land with the hoe. Accordingly they performed on three occasions: competitive weeding, dances of joy after the collective field work was done and at the annual celebration of the initiation society.