Male ty wara, Bamako style
Tyi wara, ty or ti wara, chy, ci or cy wara: many names are used for the best-known crest mask of the…
MFG-30
Documented paths
Bamana and Bambara: ci wara headdresses
Ci wara, ti wara and tyi wara are spellings encountered along this route. The collection retains Bambara as the cultural designation in these records; the guide also uses Bamana to connect them with the consulted literature. Original terms and their relationships have not been changed.
The six chosen references include figures named male and female, alongside Bamako and Ségou style labels in the catalogue titles. These names are presented as documentary information. Comparing views and descriptions makes variations accessible without treating a style name as verified provenance.
Documented context
The Met links ci wara headdresses with accounts of the introduction of agriculture and with paired danced performances. It distinguishes sogoni koun as a related but separate tradition. Shared animal features or similar spellings are insufficient to identify every headdress in the same way.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Ci wara headdress · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Sogoni koun headdress
Reading the catalogue
Original historical document in Spanish
Tyi wara, ty o ti wara, chy, ci o cy wara son múltiples los nombres empleados para nombrar la máscara cimera más conocida de los Bambara.
Jesús Arrimadas Saavedra · original catalogue · MFG-30
This quotation retains the archive’s wording. Editorial context and comparative sources do not certify the objects’ attribution, age or provenance.
Objects to explore
Female ty wara, Bamako style
Tyi Wara means the work of the wild animal. Tyi means work and wild animal Wara.
MFG-28
Female ty wara, Bamako style
Tyi wara, ty o ti wara, chy, ci o cy wara are multiple names used to name the best known scimer mask…
MFG-29
Female ty wara, Ségou style
Ty wara Guzmu formed pot a female antelope on a helmet of braided reeds.
MFG-31
Ti wara
Masked top Bambara Ti Wara depicting a female antelope, hypothragus, wearing a kneeling female figure on her head, double symbol of fertility.
MFG-22
Ty wara kun, Ségou style
Tyi Wara means the work of the wild animal. Tyi means work and wild animal Wara.
MFG-53
An editorial reading of the collection; complete documents remain in the object records.
Browse records for this culture · Bambara
