Pair of Chi Wara Headdresses

Origin: Bamana Tribe, Mali (Ségou region)
Composition: wood, pigment, leather, fabric, nails, cowrie shells, glass beads, lost wax-cast bronze
Age: Early 20th century

The religious and social life of the Bamana, who live in southwestern Mali, was once determined by six initiation societies known as Jow (singular Jo). Nearly every Bamana male had to pass through these societies in succession, until, upon reaching the highest rank, he had acquired a comprehensive knowledge of ancestral traditions. Each stage of initiation was accompanied by the use of certain mask types, most of them based on animal forms.

Among the best known of these mask types is the antelope headdress of the fifth society, Chi Wara, whose members performed ritual dances intended to ensure the fertility of the fields. The masqueraders always appeared in male-female pairs, symbolizing the sun and the earth and their significance for human life. At the same time, the representation of the male road antelope invoked the primeval era when this animal gave the first grain to human beings and taught them how to till the soil.

In spite of fundamental social changes, the Bamana in many rural regions have retained the tradition of Chi Wara masquerades, performed at the beginning and end of the agricultural cycle.

The 2,500,000 Bamana people form the largest ethnic group within Mali and occupy an area of savannah. They live principally from agriculture, with some subsidiary cattle rearing in the northern part of their territory. The Bamana kingdom was founded in the 17th century and reached its pinnacle between 1760 and 1787 during the reign of N’golo Diarra (Ref: Bacquart, "Tribal Arts of Africa"; Herzog, "African Masks").

The 1912 photograph (left), depicts a pair of Chi Waras in their original context, and is © the Barbier-Mueller Archive.

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