Blacksmith-sculptor producing vertical Chi wara headdress out of a solid mass of wood, Bamako region, Mali

"Blacksmith-sculptors (numuw) produce the wooden Ciwara headdresses, and a wide range of important items for individual farmers and for farming communities. According to Bamana oral tradition, smiths played an instrumental role in the development of the farming way of life. The original smith is said to have fashioned the first farming tools and created the first Ciwara headdresses to honor the beings that brought agriculture to the Bamana." "In the Bamana world, objects such the antelope headdresses always come in pairs -one male and one female- symbolizing the union of mythical half-animal, half-human beings that taught their ancestors to farm, and the productive union of men and women throughout time." [Wooten S., 2004: Where is my Mate? The Importance of Complementarity: A Bamana Headdress (Ciwara). See the Music, Hear the Dance, Prestel]. 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.