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Mali, Bamana
Antelope Headdresses (Tji Wara), 20th Century
Wood, string, and metal: female figure, H. 26 7/8 in. (68.3 cm.); male figure, H. 33 1/4 in. (84.5 cm.)
Purchased with funds from the North Carolina Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest), 86.1/1-2
© NCMA
The word Tji Wara (or Chi Wara), meaning "farming beast", refers to an association for Bamana farmers and to the antelope headdresses worn for performances at their planting and harvest celebrations. The headdresses may have originated as tributes to a mythical creature part antelope and part human which introduced agriculture to the Bamana people. Danced by men, the headdresses represent male and female antelopes and are danced in pairs to symbolize the procreative forces of nature and the marital cooperation necessary for successful farming.
The ideal farmer exhibits the grace, strength, and endurance of an antelope. But combined with the features of an antelope on each Headdresses are the squat lower body and legs of an aardvark, an anteater that digs in the soil as farmers do when they cultivate the earth. The female antelopes are adorned with jewelry and are portrayed with their young.
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