Mask - Mali

Bambara
L'antilope rouanne dans l'art africain
This tall traditional mask in the shape of a stylized antelope is called Tyi wara or Ci wara. It was worn on the top of a cap placed on the dancer's head. It imitates the movements of the antelope, its walk and its gallop. These masks danced in pairs; one male as here, and the other female. The dancer, leaning forward, uses two sticks to simulate the movement of the quadruped, in the field, after the millet harvest.

One notes the superb curve formed by the animal's mane and horns when the piece is viewed in profile.

This African crest was linked to the initiatory society Tyi wara which established a link between man and the cosmos.
Initiation during which these masks were worn does not consist only in making the farmer a man of excellent physical and moral qualities, but also in studying agricultural techniques and, moreover, in linking him with cosmic realities: sun and earth.