African Arts Gallery

Naturalist sculpture of rider Bambara riding his horse raw, evoking traditional races. The room features a warm brown glossy patina.
In-Central and Southern Mali, in a savannah area, the Bambara , " Bamana " or " unbelievers ", as the Muslims have named them, belong to the large Group Mande, along with the Soninke and Malinke. Mostly farmers, but also herders, they make up the largest ethnic group in Mali. In addition to their remarkable masks, the Bozo and Bambara are renowned for their puppets of various sizes. The groups of craftsmen bambara nyamakala , more specifically the blacksmiths named numu , are in charge of the sculpture of ritual objects, endowed with the nyama , occult energy. Using fire and magical objects, the role of healer and soothsayer is also assigned to them. Their powers are passed on to their wives, who alone have the right to produce pottery. Six male associations, the Dyow, using Bambara masks, structure the Bambara community: young people first enter the society of circumcision n'tomo , then comes that of komo, nama, kono, koré and finally the agrarian society Tyi Wara