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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 3217974, member: 8267&quot;]The chiwara&nbsp; (ci wara) headdresses were worn at agricultural competitions, annual celebrations, and public entertainments. Their use has become less frequent as the farming practices have changed in Mali, with the introduction of new equipment and the absence of the young men who travel to the towns and cities to find employment. But the headdress figures have become pan-African symbols of African art and identity, and are carved for sale in Mali and by artisans in other parts of Africa as well. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]296744[/ATTACH]</p><p>Pair of Headdresses (Chiwara Kunw)</p><p><font size="5"><b>Date:</b></font></p><p>Mid–19th/early 20th century</p><p><b><font size="5">Artist:</font></b></p><p>Bamana</p><p>Baninko region, Mali</p><p>Northern Africa and the Sahel</p><p><b><font size="5">ABOUT THIS ARTWORK</font></b></p><p>These headdresses were all worn by men in male-female pairs during performances celebrating the mythical farming beast named Chiwara, which introduced the Bamana people to agriculture. The rituals motivated young men to work hard. Each headdress combines the graceful horns of an antelope with the body of an aardvark. A young male calf sits upon the female’s back, symbolizing the fertile union of men and women and of the earth and the sun.</p><p><a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/189595/pair-of-headdresses-chiwara-kunw" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/189595/pair-of-headdresses-chiwara-kunw" rel="nofollow">https://www.artic.edu/artworks/189595/pair-of-headdresses-chiwara-kunw</a></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/34/b2/74/34b274c825559be9503574222f635840.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/sun.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/sun.html" rel="nofollow">https://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/sun.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>A ci wara dance ceremony recorded in Mali:</p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]6LYIdhPbWBw[/MEDIA][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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