chi wara headdress, unrecorded Bamana artist

Look carefully at the texture of this work. This is a chi wara headdress. It was made to be worn as part of a costume for a dance performed by the Bamana peoples in Mali, a country in Africa. Can you imagine dancing with this headdress tied onto your head? About the art The chi wara headdress depicts a mythical mother antelope and her baby, who is taking a ride on her back. In stories and dance, the female chi wara is always accompanied by a larger male chi wara (Tap the Related icon to see an image of a male chi wara headdress in the Museum’s collection). About the animal Chi wara are mythical half human, half antelope creatures inspired by the roan antelope that live on the savannah in northern Africa. The male roan antelope fight each other on their knees. Tap the Web icon to see a roan antelope similar to this one. Tap the Related icon to see a male version of the Chi Wara headdress

According to Bamana mythology, Chi Wara (also Tyi Wara or Ci Wara) is a supernatural half-man, half-antelope who taught humans to farm. The Chi Wara masquerade is performed at the beginning of the planting season and again at harvest. It involves two dancers: one in the female form of the headdress, like this one, which typically shows a large Chi Wara supporting a smaller one on her back, and one in a male version. The dance, which symbolically connects agricultural fertility with human fertility, encourages men to be good farmers. Perforations in the nose and ears of the headdress would have been decorated with colored string or metal rings. The dancer wears the Chi Wara image securely tied to a fringed basketry cap which is fastened to his head.

Exhibition Label: "Time/Frame," Jun-2008, Robert Fucci, Shuyun Ho, Lauren Kernes, Lara Kuykendall, Ellen C. Raimond, and Stephanie Teasley Chiwara is a mythical half-antelope creature who is celebrated for bringing knowledge of agriculture to the Bambara people of Mali in West Africa. Every harvest, they commemorate this event by having a pair of dancers, cloaked in raffia, dance in a manner reminiscent of the dance performed by Chiwara when he first taught them how to sow. These dances are performed with both male and female chiwara. This headdress represents a female, and the baby on her back is also female because she mirrors the mother’s form. Exhibition Label: "For Life's Sake: Arts from Africa," Oct-1983, Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen According to Bamana mythology the Tyi Wara (also spelled Chi Wara or Ci Wara) is a supernatural being, half man, half antelope, who taught men how to farm. The dance of the Tyi Wara is usually performed at the beginning of the planting season and again at harvest time, always by a male and a female carved crest, complete with masking costume. Its purpose is to encourage men to be good farmers and to honor those who are. The image of a small animal supported by a large animal usually connotes motherhood, and fertility in general. Perforations in noses and ears would have been decorated with colored string, metal rings. The dancer wears the Tyi Wara image securely tied to a fringed basketry cap which is, in turn, fastened to his head. Two different regional styles are represented in these two crests.