Cimier de danse antilope "tjiwara" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3047350

Description

wood, brass, insect caused damage, rest., base

The “tjiwara” 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.”

They 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.