FILTER RESULTS
Crest Mask: Male Antelope (Chi Wara)
20th Century40 9/16 x 2 15/16 x 13 9/16 in. (103 x 7.5 x 34.5 cm)
Bamana artist (active )
Object Type:
Sculpture
Medium and Support:
Wood, fiber, and metal
Credit Line:
Marion Stratton Gould Fund
Accession Number:
1969.107
Media
-
Listen to a narrative related to this object.
Transcript
The Legend of Chi Wara
At the beginning of the world, the people did not know how to grow their own food. They were forced to wander the land searching for food, and were often hungry.
Chi Wara, a half man-half antelope, felt sorry for the people, and decided to teach them how to farm so they would never have to search for food again. With his sharp hooves, he broke up the soil. Then he dug holes in the earth with his horns to plant seeds that he helped them find.
Chi Wara stayed with the people and became their special friend as he helped them to work their gardens and farms. Soon the people became happy and rich, but they also became lazy. They began to waste food. They stopped caring for their farms and gardens. They even forgot about Chi Wara. Saddened that the people had forgotten him, Chi Wara hid himself deep in the earth.
Before long, the people missed Chi Wara, too. Some made beautiful wooden antelope figures. Others brought drums and farm tools out to the farms, where they danced, sang songs and worked together to plant seeds, just as Chi Wara had shown them. From that time on, each year as they worked their lands, the people thanked Chi Wara for his help.
-
Listen to a guided description of this object.
-
ASL interpretation of The Legend of Chi Wara