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Source Description
<em>Chi wara</em>—a mythical “farming beast”—was said to teach farming to the Bamana people. Carved patterns cover this female chi wara’s body, highlighting its muscles and emphasizing that it is no earthly animal, but rather an agricultural spirit that combines human, antelope, and anteater elements. This example emphasizes vertical space, with a kneeling human figure on the back. The figure is adorned with imported beads as well as small shells. Accompanied by women’s songs, male performers danced paired male-and-female chi wara headdresses affixed to basketry caps at agricultural competitions and weddings.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
138379
label
Headdress (chi wara)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
138379
contentType
object
title
Headdress (chi wara)
description
<em>Chi wara</em>—a mythical “farming beast”—was said to teach farming to the Bamana people. Carved patterns cover this female chi wara’s body, highlighting its muscles and emphasizing that it is no earthly animal, but rather an agricultural spirit that combines human, antelope, and anteater elements. This example emphasizes vertical space, with a kneeling human figure on the back. The figure is adorned with imported beads as well as small shells. Accompanied by women’s songs, male performers danced paired male-and-female chi wara headdresses affixed to basketry caps at agricultural competitions and weddings.
date
early 1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Mask
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 45.2 x 4.8 x 12.4 cm (17 13/16 x 1 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.)
accession
1962.307
Source extras
tec
Wood, metal, glass beads, seashells, string, and probably tar
tombstone
Headdress (chi wara), early 1900s. Wood, metal, glass beads, seashells, string, and probably tar; overall: 45.2 x 4.8 x 12.4 cm (17 13/16 x 1 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1962.307
collection
African Art
didYouKnow
<em>Chi wara</em> headdresses look different depending on the region in which they were made.
citations
citation
Sims, Lowery Stokes. <em>The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 88-89, no. 55
creditline
Gift of Katherine C. White
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:05:13.896000
sourceId
138379
dept
African Art
coll
African Art
med
Wood, metal, glass beads, seashells, string, and probably tar
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
12f962d642e0700a