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At
the heart of the social and spiritual life of the Bamana lies an
ideal of perfection. In order to reach the stage of fully matured adulthood, it is
necessary to become a member of the six societies in turn. The fifth stage of this
religion and moral teaching consists of the initiation into the chi wara to secret
society. The group takes its name from the cultural hero who came down from the skies to
teach the people how to farm. Chi wara
is the sole major Bamana secret society that admits women, although only initiated men may
carve the masks and wear them as they dance. The inclusion of women stresses the
underlying philosophy of Chi wara: harmony may be achieved only by maintaining an
equilibrium between men and women to produce new generations, and between sun and earth to
produce new crops (Sieber & Walker, pp.64-65). This association teaches its members
all aspects of food production --hard work for a population frequently jeopardized by
climate conditions.
The symbolic representation of the
vital Earth-Man relationship has given rise to numerous myths and to intense ritual activities. It is in the heart of the chi wara
that the legend, beliefs and truths concerning this relationship are revealed.
Following is a brief summary of the tale for which
the society is named:
At the beginning of the world,
a being that was both animal and man (in some accounts half man-half antelope), a child of
Mousso Koroni and of a snake, taught the people, with the aid of his staff and his claws,
how to change the thorny bush into millet fields. (Some accounts have Chi wara coming down
from the sky) The Bamana who followed his example became happy and prosperous. But the
abundance of good things caused them to become careless of the Earth and forgetful of the
tributes owed to the one who had brought the knowledge of agricultural techniques. Tyiwara
(different spelling for Chi wara) reacted to this ingratitude by burying himself deep in
the earth and waiting for men to redeem themselves and render to him the homage he
deserved. Thereupon they sculpted antelope effigies (sogoni kun) and took them to the
fields when the millet was being hoed in order to honour the memory of the Bamana
benefactor. (Paudrat in Huet 1978 p.17)
To this day, the Bamana’s link
with the earth is revealed in impressive ceremonies and dances, for which highly stylized
antelope or antelope heads are carved and worn. As Wassing has written, the headdresses
may be worn only by circumcised youths, who are of the age group called soli. The
age groups are combined into larger units, flan ton or flan kuru. These
combine into the larger field groups, the chi wara to, coming forward every year
when fieldwork begins or when a new piece of land is cleared. While the young men of the
society stand in rows breaking up the earth with hoes, spurred on by the rhythm of the
drums and singing of the women, two dancers wearing the antelope headdress, the chi
wara, oversee the proper progress of the work (Wassing p. 180). The dancers are almost
always in pairs (Huet as shown an exception to this rule, however both male and female
antelope are represented in the one headdress, p. 100, plate 123), with one dancer wearing
the male antelope (hippotrague or orycterope), the other wears the female antelope
(oryx
or kob). Occasionally in the Bougouni region, a female statuette representing Mousso
Koroni, the mother of the Chi wara, is associated with the antelope (Paudrat in Huet p.
100).
The pair of dancers wear a long raffia cloak, a
different color frequently covering the face, and lean on staves; the chi wara is
secured to an inverted basket and tied to the head. Their dance (nearly extinct in some
Bamana cultures due to Muslim influence) imitates the high, impulsive leaps of the
frisking antelopes--imitating the working or farming (chi) wild animal (wara)
who taught mankind how to cultivate the earth (Wassing p. 180). During the performance,
each mask has a special female partner who dances behind the masquerader, fanning the air
to disseminate the spirit’s aura. Not only is the Chi wara a fertility ritual
to invoke fertile crops, but also may appear in agricultural matches or contests between
neighboring villages (Wassing p. 181). Drumming, singing, dancing, costumes, and
headdresses combine to send a message about the importance of agriculture, the virtues it
demands of farmers, and the relation of the Bamana to the cosmos. The dances now are
performed largely in the secular sense, singing the praises
of the chi wara.
The chi wara headdresses are probably some
of the finest example of stylized African art combining delicate lines, sensitive carvings
with the natural beauty of the antelope. This basic motif has been repeatedly modified by
combining with figures and parts of other animals -- proof that the Bamana do not adhere
precisely to their models, but give free rein to their imagination (Leuzinger 1960, p.
78-79). Overall, there are three main styles. All have been known to be adorned with
cowrie shells, fibers, leather and brass jewelry. Once the mask has served its purpose,
the adornment is often removed and added to the replacement-- and the cycle begins anew.
Since many Chi wara collected in the past
may not have originated in the region where they were found, it becomes difficult to pin
point exactly where each of the sub-styles are found. In general, the naturalistic horizontal style-- with long horns
gently curved upwards and narrow ears extending from a pointed muzzle-- comes from the
upper Niger region and on into Cote d’Ivoire. While these are much small carvings
than their neighboring Senufo Poro Society masks, they have many stylistic
similarities. In many of the carvings the mouth is open as though the animals were
whinnying with joy. The back has a delicate curvature and often ends in a long curled up
tail representing a chameleon- the symbol for longevity or immortality (Leuzinger p. 79).
The male is often shown with multiple sets of horns, which, along with genitalia,
distinguish it from the female headdress. The females often carry their babies on their
back or protruding from the neck. Research has shown that not all horizontal style females
carry a fawn. See
an example of a pair of horizontal Chi wara.
In other horizontal versions the face takes on more
human characteristics with a straight, flat nose and rounded forehead (Wassing p. 181).
The addition of brass eyes gives them a whimsical appearance. Sharp zigzag lines indicate
the legs and the bodies are covered with fine notches to suggest the coat of the animal.
These, too, have carved chevron zigzags designs representing the cosmic symbol of the path
of the sun and the sky. As with all chi wara, The male is the sun and the female is
the earth. The fawn on the female symbolizes human beings. The fiber costume worn with
these represent the water. There must be union with the sun, earth and water for things to
grow; there must be cooperation with men and women to make it all happen (Sieber and
Walker p. 65).
The second style, a vertical model, is said by the
Bamana to be the oldest form (Leuzinger p. 79). It is purely abstract in which faint
curves of the body often hint of other animal forms. The pointed horns and sharp outlines
of the legs express a vitality of movement. It often takes closer inspection to see the
composition as an antelope supported by another antelope, a chameleon, a horse or perhaps
a tortoise. Chi wara of this style are also known to have one or more standing or
seated human figures on the forehead or back (Wassing p. 181-182). The mane often is a
styled chevron form. The majority of these have been found in the Bougouni region. One
unusual example, currently in the Nicaud Collection in Paris, shows an antelope head with
long slender curving neck and narrow pointed muzzle mounted on a two-legged zoomorphic
animal (a llama like body with the head of a camel and single horn). In this case the
muzzle is notched in the zigzag motif rather than the mane. The ears are long a curve in a
semi circle to long slightly curved horns (as in the Kurumba headdresses). This model has
a female figure attached to the forehead and a male figure to the neck of the antelope
(Meauze 1968 p. 148) Another unique feature of this crest is the red highlights as the
Bambara rarely applied color to their work. Could this be one of the oldest chi waras
carved before compromising styles to appeal to European tastes?
The third style, the most common today, is the
vertical style generally located in the are between Segou, San and Kutiala (and partly
into Minianka territory). This style is frequently referred to as the Segu style. The
buck, with exaggerated genitalia piercing downward, has an elongated neck, pointed muzzle
(with a long narrow human like nose) and a flat decorative mane. The curve of the mane is
repeated in the open fretwork of zigzag line or triangles of the mane. The long horns
point upwards with the tips curving back, evoking the tall growth of the millet stalks.
The female has a long slender neck and straight upward horns (Leuzinger p. 79). The baby
she carries on her back she carries on her back may be female or male (the male is a
smaller version of the buck). Some of the newer styles in this group have faces with more
human characteristics, particularly the fawn.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BAMANA AND THEIR
CHI WARAHEADDRESSES
Be sure to click the "back" arrow in your
browser to return to the Internet Lesson on African Art.
For a fascinating discussion of Bamana
sculptors, see Brett-Smith's THE MAKING OF BAMANA SCULPTURE-CREATIVITY
AND GENDER, and superb examples in BAMANA-THE ART OF EXISTENCE IN
MALI, edited by Colleyn.
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