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Bamana antelope puppet head, Mali
32" tall x 8" wide
wood, fiber, pigment
SOLD
"Twice a year, the Bozo, Somono, Marka and Bambara populations of Central West Mali perpetuate a long tradition of sogo (animal) mask
dances, sometimes accompanied by jiri maanin (little wooden people). The purpose of these festivals, called Sogo bo (animal outings) or Tyeko
(the thing of men) or Do bo (the manifestation of the mystery), is to enact original myths, legends, the cosmos and ancestors, as well as all the
new things in the world. They also depict the psychology of the human character. The youth in the villages are responsible for performing the
masquerades based on the information they learn from the elders.
The oldest Sogo bo characters are bush animals and they still enjoy a special place in the theater. During any performance it is not uncommon
to see masquerades representing lions, bush buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, wild cats, antelopes, and powerful bush spirits. In these
communities the bush is defined as the domain of men and it is the locus of power. The interpretation of the theater's bush animal characters are
informed by beliefs and values associated with hunting and with hunters as men of action and society's heros. It is the world of the hunter and
the association of hunting with heroic behavior that young men in the youth association, the owners of the masquerades, choose to identify with,
and to celebrate through the performance of these bush animal masquerades.
Each season a troupe will choose to play many of the same characters popularized by their fathers and grandfathers before them. But each new
generation of young men is also charged to create new characters to rival those of their elders. While the community invests a high value in unity
through the maintenance of tradition, it also recognizes that creative rivalry energizes these performances, in the same way that people
understand the necessity for innovation and change in order to move the society forward." From - Playing With Time - Art and Performance in
Central Mali, Mary Jo Arnoldi
This wonderfully inventive puppet head does not show much age or use but it is an authentic example.
32" tall x 8" wide
wood, fiber, pigment
SOLD
"Twice a year, the Bozo, Somono, Marka and Bambara populations of Central West Mali perpetuate a long tradition of sogo (animal) mask
dances, sometimes accompanied by jiri maanin (little wooden people). The purpose of these festivals, called Sogo bo (animal outings) or Tyeko
(the thing of men) or Do bo (the manifestation of the mystery), is to enact original myths, legends, the cosmos and ancestors, as well as all the
new things in the world. They also depict the psychology of the human character. The youth in the villages are responsible for performing the
masquerades based on the information they learn from the elders.
The oldest Sogo bo characters are bush animals and they still enjoy a special place in the theater. During any performance it is not uncommon
to see masquerades representing lions, bush buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, wild cats, antelopes, and powerful bush spirits. In these
communities the bush is defined as the domain of men and it is the locus of power. The interpretation of the theater's bush animal characters are
informed by beliefs and values associated with hunting and with hunters as men of action and society's heros. It is the world of the hunter and
the association of hunting with heroic behavior that young men in the youth association, the owners of the masquerades, choose to identify with,
and to celebrate through the performance of these bush animal masquerades.
Each season a troupe will choose to play many of the same characters popularized by their fathers and grandfathers before them. But each new
generation of young men is also charged to create new characters to rival those of their elders. While the community invests a high value in unity
through the maintenance of tradition, it also recognizes that creative rivalry energizes these performances, in the same way that people
understand the necessity for innovation and change in order to move the society forward." From - Playing With Time - Art and Performance in
Central Mali, Mary Jo Arnoldi
This wonderfully inventive puppet head does not show much age or use but it is an authentic example.
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