Tyi Wara Mask
Tyi Wara, ca. 20th Century, wood, glass beads, shells, meatal, 44.5 cm. Donation of Mrs. Ralph M. Coe, Cleveland Museum of Art (Photo provided by Spirits Speak)
Abstraction is one of the key elements of the Tyi Wara headdress mask.[1] The abstract animal forms are what make this mask unique from other mask in Africa and within the Bamana society.[1] The Bamana peoples from Mali carved these mask from wood, sometimes they would include glass beads, metal, and mussei shells.[1] These masks would normally shows animals with horns protruding from the head. [1] They also would include geometric shapes to build the body of the animal. [1] These masks in some way look like a mixture of animals, such as one that has a dog body but has antelope antlers.
Originally Tyi Wara was created by the Djitournou region in part of the Bamana area. [1] These masks are one of the most famous, and are associated with agriculture. [1] The Tyi Wara is a cultural hero that was said to have taught the Bamana people how to farm their land and to make their crops grow. [1] The only time this mask is danced is during the chopping championships and shared working in the fields. [1] The overall significance and function of Tyi Wara is to help the Bamana with their crop season and help produce as much produce as possible.
1. Peter Stepan, Spirits Speak a Celebration of African Masks, (Munich, Berlin, London, New York: Prestel, 2005), 164-166.