BAMANA, MALI

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Among the Bamana, oral tradition credits the mythical Ci Wara – a divine being half human and half animal – with the introduction of agriculture to their people. Under Ci Wara's guidance, humans first learned to cultivate the land and became prosperous and able farmers. But when they grew careless and wasteful, Ci Wara is said to have buried himself in the earth. To honor Ci Wara's memory, the Bamana created the zoomorphic boli, an imposing power object in which his spirit could reside, and carved figural headdresses, also called ci wara, to represent him.

Ciwara combine antelope features with those of other animals more intimately connected to the soil, such as the aardvark and pangolin. The elegant and tapered head, neck, ears, and horns are modeled on antelope forms, while the lower body of the sculpture refers to the aardvark. These headdresses are typically characterized by fine decoration with pierced openwork designs and finely incised geometric patterns.

Dances are performed with the ci wara to encourage Bamana farmers as they work in the fields and praise their efforts upon their return. The performances always feature a pair of headdresses, one male and one female, worn by two young male dancers accompanied by female singers. The performers' costumes are made of long raffia fibers that stretch from the base of the headdress to the ground, concealing their bodies. These fiber mantles are darkly dyed and sway and bounce with the dancers’ antelope-inspired movements. In a dramatic convergence of motion, sound, and iconography, the dance evokes the cooperation of the agricultural elements – earth, sun, and water – upon which all humanity depends.

The ciwara tradition remains one of the most widely recognized in all of African art. Over time, the sculptures, costumes, and songs have grown and changed along with Bamana culture itself. Different regions within Bamana society display unique sculptural variations of ciwara iconography. Outside of Africa, their beauty notably touched the imaginations of early twentieth-century artists such as Constantin Brancusi and Ferdinand Léger, who were impressed by their juxtaposition of negative and positive space and two-dimensional sculptural design.

The present example shows a pair of figures, a smaller standing atop a larger. This configuration is believed to symbolize the fundamental relationship of humanity, the child, and the parental Earth. The larger figure shows a beautifully structured, elongated and geometric visage, held upon a sinuous neck. In classic style, the main figure is crowned with fantastically tapered horns that spear skyward. Delicate incision work sends ridges down the length of both figures’ horns, and adorns their faces with patterns of points.

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