Antelope dance crest "tjiwara"
Description
wood, dark brown patina, eyes an cuff around the neck from silver metal sheet, elongated head with long pointed backswept horns, incised ornaments, rep. (breakage base), traces of insect caused damage, small missing parts (both ear tips, right horn tip), slight traces of abrasion;
“tijwara” masks are danced in male-female pairs. They accompany workers into communal fields, praising and challenging the young men. They also entertain at hoeing contests that recognize a champion farmer. The dancers are male, but they are joined by young women, who fan the “tijwara” to diffuse the power “nyama” that the beasts are believed to emit. The dancers hunch over and lean on canes that evoke forelegs, their movements mimicking an antelope’s. “Tjiwara” crest masks called “tijwara kunw” (“farming-beast heads”) or “sogoni kunw” (“little animal heads”) are metaphors for the qualities intrinsic to successful farmers. Various animals possessing such desired traits and/or associated with the origins of agriculture combine to form a “tijwara kunw”. Among these is the pangolin or the anteater. The masks horns invoke the grace and strength of the roan antelope.