BAMANA STYLE CHI WARA MALE HEADDRESSES, MALI

All of our male Chi wara are sold.  To see them  GO TO BAMANA STYLE MALE CHIWARA ARCHIVES PAGE

Photographs © Tim Hamill

BAMANA STYLE, Chi Wara Male Headdressses, Mali

Despite their appearance, these Bamana style headdresses were probably made to be sold.

Bamana Chi Wara from Mali, represent and honor the mythological half man / half antelope hero who taught man how to cultivate the soil. They were danced in pairs and celebrate the union of male (sun), female (earth) and fibre costume (rain), signifying the cooperation needed for a successful harvest and community survival. They are worn as headdresses and danced as pairs. Spelled alternately Ci Wara, Tyi Wara, etc. they illustrate the diversity of ways to represent an unwritten pronunciation. There are three types of Chi Wara headdresses; the familiar vertical style of the eastern Bamana, the more realistic horizontal style of the northern Bamana and the varied and more abstract forms of the Southern Bamana. These are examples of the eastern vertical style.

GO TO BAMANA ART PAGE

GO TO BAMANA CHI WARA PAGE

GO TO BAMANA FEMALE CHIWARA PAGE

GO TO BAMANA MALE CHIWARA ARCHIVES PAGE

GO TO BAMANA CHIWARA PAIRS PAGE

GO TO BAMANA ABSTRACT CHIWARA PAGE

GO TO BAMANA HORIZONTAL CHIWARA PAGE

GO TO MASKS AND HEADS PAGE

GO TO AFRICAN FIGURES PAGE

HOMEPAGE

 Index by
TRIBE

 Index by
OBJECT

CONTACT US