Masked performers wearing pair of male and female Chi wara headdresses, Bamako (national district), Mali

"In Antilopes du soleil, his 1980 survey of ci wara, Dominique Zahan classifies this corpus of works in group I, which comprises pairs that overtly emphasize the differentiation of the male and female forms. Zahan notes that the social distinctions between men and women that suffuse Bamana society are referenced in the antelope sculptures through sexual attibutes: the male's penis and the infant carried by the female. Female ci wara headdress are also generally smaller than the males. The fawn depicted on her back is invariably a miniature representation of either the adult male or female. The fundamental differences underlying the designs of the male and female headdresses in this style derive from the fact that they are modeled on different species of animal. The head, neck, ears, and horns of the male form draw upon features of the roan antelope, known as dage, and its lower part refers to the aardvark. The female form is inspired by the oryx antelope." [La Gamma A., 2002: Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Yale University Press, New Haven and London]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.