#bamana

[nobrashfestivity]

Unknown, Bamana group, Altar figues. Mali area

Boli sculpture depicts an animal such as hippopotamus or cow but in ritual use builds into a dark accumulation of mud, blood, and sacrificial materials in which the form becomes ambiguous.

[jreicher]

Bamana

[topcat77]

UNRECORDED BAMANA ARTIST

Male "Ci Wara" headdress

[artifacts-archive]

Gwandansu

Bamana artist, 15th–first half 20th century

This figure depicts a woman of extraordinary abilities, as shown by the amulet-laden hat she wears and the knife strapped to her left arm, both of which are conventionally associated with the powers of male hunters. An even more vital message conveyed by the sculpture is the importance of motherhood in maintaining social cohesion and continuity within Bamana society, and elders' roles in passing on their skills, powers, and values to future generations.

[puriwaves]

Amavasya tithi or the no moon day in Hindu  calendar and Panchang in most regions. It is Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi tithi or the fourteenth day during waning or dark phase of moon till 4:16 AM on July 5. Then onward it is Amavasya tithi or the no moon day till 3:45 AM on July 6. 

[arthistoryanimalia]

More on the blog for #NationalAardvarkWeek:

ANIMAL ART OF THE DAY for National Aardvark Week, Part 2: Aardvarks in Bambara (Bamana) Sculpture

ANIMAL ART OF THE DAY for National Aardvark Week, Part 2: Aardvarks in Bambara (Bamana) Sculpture – ART HISTORY ANIMALIA

Happy #NationalAardvarkWeek! Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are widely distributed across Sub-Sahara Africa, and as such can be found in Afric

[heifercatmoon]

Bogolan, also known as "mudcloth", is cotton Malian cloth dyed and patterned with fermented earth based dyes. It is created by the Bambara people of Mali, who make up 40% of the total population.

Bogolanfini adds a sahelcore flair to any outfit in the form of headwraps, scarves, skirts, pants or boubou (kaftan).

It may be the most emblematic Sahelian textile apart from indigo tie-dye.

A town called San is the epicenter of bogolanfini production and source of the highest quality bogolan textile.

The dyeing process has been described as "cumbersome and tedious". First, cotton strips woven by the men are then dyed by the women (who undergo year-long apprenticeships)-- but first, the fresh cloth is soaked in a sort of tea made from ngallama leaves turning it yellow. After this, it is sundried, and then patterns are repeatedly hand painted with dyes made from iron-rich riverbed clays that have been fermented in jars for up to a year. The iron in the dye turns the painted areas a very dark brown thanks to the chemical reaction between the treated cotton and the dye.

The yellow parts are bleached with soaps and then the cloth is washed, leaving behind the distinctive black and white pattern that overtime may fade to varying shades of brown.

Other methods of producing bogolanfini exist in other parts of Mali, of varying degrees of quality.

Bogolanfini entered the fashion industry via designer Chris Seydou, who brought the enigmatic traditional textile into the mainstream.

Bogolanfini was traditionally worn by hunters as camouflage, and by women after giving birth, as it was believed that the bogolanfini could control the mysterious forces released postpartum.

[sagewhite]

I want to be an amorphous being. Something akin to pumpkin or squib from baman piderman.