Headdress (Ci-wara Kun)
20th century
Bamana
Arts of Africa
In developing the costumes in her installation displayed here, Saya Woolfalk drew from hybrid animal masks such as this ci-wara headdress. Worn on the heads of male dancers, ci-wara headdresses are danced in pairs, often male and female, to symbolize the fertility of land and animals. Each headdress represents a composite of animals, such as antelopes or pangolins (strong, clawed mammals with a protective armor), that are metaphors for the successful farmer who tirelessly and efficiently tills his fields.
- Maker/Artist
- Bamana
- Classification
- (not assigned)
- Formatted Medium
- Wood, metal, pigment
- Locations
- Place made: Mali
- Dimensions
- 11 x 22 1/4 x 2 1/2in. (27.9 x 56.5 x 6.4cm)
- Departments
- Arts of Africa
- Accession Number
- 1989.51.51
- Credit Line
- The Adolph and Esther D. Gottlieb Collection
- Exhibitions
- Disguise: Masks and Global African Art
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
- Museum Location
- This item is not on view
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