BAMBARA MARKA MALI MASK

$1,000.00

Mask Title: Bamana Marka Mali Mask
Date: 19th–mid-20th century
Geography: Western Sudan, Mali
Culture: Malinke People
Medium: Wood, Metal
Dimensions: 16 inH x 7.5inW x 10inD
Classification:Wood-Sculpture

1 in stock

Category:

Description

The Bambara numbering 2,500.000 million form the largest ethnic group within Mali. The triangle of the Bambara region, divided in two parts by the Niger River, constitutes the greater part of the western and southern Mali of today. The dry savanna permits no more than a subsistence economy, and the soil produces, with some difficulty, corn, millet, sorghum, rice, and beans. Their traditions include six male societies, each with its own type of mask. Initiation for men lasts for seven years and ends with their symbolic death and their rebirth. Nearly every Bambara man had to pass through these societies in succession, until, upon reaching the highest rank, he had acquired a comprehensive knowledge of ancestral traditions. $1000 USD