Bambara (Bamana, Banmana), Mali

Fertility figure. 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. In traditional Bambara societies, a childless marriage is a grave problem that has serious repercussions on the relationships between wife, husband, and in-laws and on the village as a whole. Further, childlessness seems to be the wife’s problem to resolve. Women with fertility and childbearing problems in Bambara society affiliate with Gwan, an association that is especially concerned with such problems. Women who avail themselves of its ministrations and who succeed in bearing children make extra sacrifices to Gwan, dedicate their children to it, and name them after the sculptures associated with the association. The figures of this type were handled, held by dancers and placed in the middle of the ceremonial circle.

Material: wood

Size:  H. 17”, W. 2”, D. 2”

Price:  $180+$28 (S&H)                                                   [#B0MB8S849]