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Bamana. Headdress (Ci-wara Kun), 20th century. Wood, metal, pigment, 11 x 22 1/4 x 2 1/2in. (27.9 x 56.5 x 6.4cm)
. The Adolph and Esther D. Gottlieb Collection, 1989.51.51. Creative Commons-BY.
In developing the costumes in her installation displayed here, Saya Woolfalk drew from hybrid animal masks such as this ci-wara headdress. Worn on the heads of male dancers, ci-wara headdresses are danced in pairs, often male and female, to symbolize the fertility of land and animals. Each headdress represents a composite of animals, such as antelopes or pangolins (strong, clawed mammals with a protective armor), that are metaphors for the successful farmer who tirelessly and efficiently tills his fields.