Dance-Crest, Bamana
Wood, iron, leather, fiber; Mali; L. 28 1/2"
A Bamana age-grade that followed Ntomo,
Tyi Wara prepared young men for their role as
family provider with needed agricultural skills.
According to Bamana myth, Tyi Wara, a half
man and half animal supernatural, first taught how
to cultivate the fields. These headdresses always
appear in pairs, one male and one female, on performers
who are completely camouflaged in a costume of fiber
dyed black. This example is in the horizontal style
more characteristic of examples deriving from north
of the Niger River in Mali. Particularly fascinating
in this example is the balance of the horizontal
and vertical axes, the sweeping horns thrust back
while the antelope head juts upward. The composition
is balanced due to the human head emerging laterally
from the antelope neck, which further emphasizes
the human/antelope nature of the mythical hero.
