Previous
Bamana Chi Wara Headdress C
Mali
#MH-29
The Chi Wara headdresses of the Malian Bamana are some of the most recognizable African classical sculpture. Combining features of the antelope, aardvark and anteater, they are superbly abstracted. The headdresses are worn in ceremonies by young men selected as champion fieldworkers honored for their toil with a hoe.
The Chi Wara (literally "beast of work") legend concerns a fall from primordial innocence and mankind's regeneration only through hard work. Part human, part antelope/animal, the Chi Wara taught the ancestors how to farm and that event is reenacted in the ceremonies. This is a fine male antelope headdress, originally from a male/female pair and shows definite signs of use.
height - 43" with stand
width - 10 1/4"
The Chi Wara (literally "beast of work") legend concerns a fall from primordial innocence and mankind's regeneration only through hard work. Part human, part antelope/animal, the Chi Wara taught the ancestors how to farm and that event is reenacted in the ceremonies. This is a fine male antelope headdress, originally from a male/female pair and shows definite signs of use.
height - 43" with stand
width - 10 1/4"
