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Chi Wara Dance Crest

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145769



unknown Bamana
Primary



Chi Wara Dance Crest

Late 19th century - Mid 20th century
Carved, painted, and incised wood with paint

11 7/8 in. x 8 in. (30.16 cm x 20.32 cm)

Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number: 99.3.46
Other Number(s): 38 (Sotheby's Lot Number)
Acquisition Date: 12/20/1996
Geography: Africa, Mali, Central and Southern Mali
Classification: Ceremonial and Performance Artifacts; Ritual Objects
Culture/Nationality: Bamana, Malian, West African, African
Collection: Neufeld Collection
Description: In preparation for becoming future spouses, Bamana youth in Mali who have reached a certain age-grade are chosen to dance as the male Ci Wara (also spelled Tyi Wara, both pronounced as Chi Wara) and his female companion. The word ci refers to farming while the word wara is generally translated as “wild beast.” In addition to preparing the youth for marriage, it also focuses on the importance of agriculture to the community, since the Bamana believe that theCi Wara taught mankind how to cultivate the land.

This Ci Wara headdress is known as a vertical dance crest because the horns point upward. Horizontal dance crests also exist, with their horns lying back. The triangular cut-outs on the body signify that this is a male Ci Wara.

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
This object has the following keywords:
  • African - Refers to the cultures of the continent of Africa, which is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Animalia - Kingdom containing multicellular organisms having cells bound by a plasma membrane and organized into tissue and specialized tissue systems that permit them to either move about in search of food or to draw food toward themselves. Unable to make their own food within themselves, as photosynthetic plants do, they rely on consuming preformed food. They possess a nervous system with sensory and motor nerves, enabling them to receive environmental stimuli and to respond with specialized movements.
  • antelopes - Common name for several species of deer-like ruminants from several genera, including true antelopes, goat-like antelopes, and ox-like antelopes. They have in common that they are even-toed, hoofed mammals that typically are swift, slender, and graceful plains dwellers.
  • Bamana
  • chi wara - Bamana carved wooden headdresses representing antelopes or aardvarks. Typically, they are worn by males who perform a masquerade in pairs, with one dancer representing a male animal and the other a female.
  • Malian - Style and culture of Mali in West Africa, either the ancient empire of the 13th and 14th centuries or of the modern republic founded in 1960.
  • Mande - Style and culture of the African people of the same name living in the countries of Mali, Burkina Fasso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal.
  • West African - Styles and cultures from the region comprising the westernmost area of the African continent, defined by the United Nations as including the modern nations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:

  • Owner Name: Mace Neufeld and Helen Katz Neufeld, Class of 1953
    Role: Donor
    Place: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, US
    Ownership End Date: 12/20/1996


  • Owner Name: Kelly Rollings/American West Gallery
    Role: Dealer
    Place: Tuscon, Arizona, US


Bibliography List
The following Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Important Tribal Art Sotheby's . New York, NY, 1989
    Figure Number: 38
  • "Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Bulletin," Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Bulletin (May 2015): 72.
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0078726.

Comparanda List
The following Comparanda exist for this object:
  • Allen Wardwell, "A Bambara Master Carver." African Arts 18, no. 1 (1984): 83.
  • A.F. Roberts, Animals in African Art. From the Familiar to the Marvelous (Prestel, 1995), 156. Figure Number: 96
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0078733.
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0078727.
  • "African Heritage Document and Research Center." (Accessed June 11, 2020): AHDRC.eu. Record No.: 0078719.

Related Bibliography List
The following Related Bibliography exist for this object:
  • Allen Wardwell, "A Bambara Master Carver." African Arts 18, no. 1 (1984): 83-84.
  • A.F. Roberts, Animals in African Art. From the Familiar to the Marvelous (Prestel, 1995), 82-82, 156.
  • Michel Huet, The Dances of Africa (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996), 52-53.
  • Ladislas Segy, African Sculpture Speaks (New York, New York: Hill and Wang, 1969), 148-150. Figure Number: 104

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/145769 |title=Chi Wara Dance Crest |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=3/29/2024 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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