ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY

AKUNGBA-AKOKO

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION

GROUP H

CASE OF STUDY: BAMBARA TRIBE IN MALI

COURSE CODE MCM 106

COURSE TITLE AFRICAN COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS

LECTURER IN CHARGE DR DEBO AKINBAMI & MR E .

OGINIBO

Group H is proud to represent and showcase the vibrant culture of the Bambara.
Bambara / Bamana / Banmana

The Bambara (Bambara: Bamana or Banmana) are a Mandé ethnic group native to much of West
Africa, primarily southern Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Today they make up the
largest Mandé ethnic group in Mali, with 80% of the population speaking the Bambara language,
regardless of ethnicity

Bambara people Location Map 1 Ethnonym

According to the Encyclopedia of Africa, “Bambara means “unbeliever” or “infidel”; the group
acquired the name because it resisted Islam after the religion was introduced in 1854 by Tukulor
conqueror El hadj Umar Tal.”
Language

Bambara people speak Bambara, also known as Bamana, and Bamanankan. It is a mande
language that belong to the larger Niger-Congo family.

This language spoken in Mali, and to a lesser extent Burkina Faso and Senegal, by as many as six
million people (including second language users). The Bambara language is the language of
people of the Bambara ethnic group, numbering about 4,000,000 people, but serves also as a
lingua franca in Mali (it is estimated that about 80 percent of the population speak it as a first or
second language). It is a Subject–object–verb language and has two tones.

It uses seven vowels a, e, ɛ, I, o, ɔ and u (the letters approximate their IPA equivalents). Writing
was introduced during the French occupation and literacy is limited, especially in rural areas .
Although written literature is only slowly evolving (due to the predominance of French as the
“language of the educated”), there exists a wealth of oral literature, which is often tales of kings
and heroes. This oral literature is mainly tradited by the “Griots” (Jɛliw in Bambara) who are a
mixture of storytellers, praise singers and human history books who have studied the trade of
singing and reciting for many years. Many of their songs are very old and are said to date back to
the old kingdom of Mali.

The main sub-dialect is standard Bamara, which has significant influence from Western
Maninkakan. Bambara has many local dialects. Some dialect variants: Somono, Segou, San,
Beledugu, Ganadugu, Wasulu and Sikasso.
Since the 1970s Bambara has mostly been written in the Latin script, using some additional
phonetic characters. The vowels are a, e, ɛ (formerly è), I, o, ɔ (formerly ò), u; accents can be used
to indicate tonality. The former digraph ny is now written ɲ or ñ (Senegal). The ambiguous
digraph “ng” represented both the [ŋɡ] sound of English “finger” and the [ŋ] sound of “singer”.
The 1966 Bamako spelling conventions render the latter sound as “ŋ”.

The N'Ko (ߏߞߒ) alphabet is a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system for
the Manding languages of West Africa; N’Ko means ‘I say’ in all Manding languages. Kante
created N’Ko in response to what he felt were beliefs that Africans were a “cultureless people”
since prior to this time there had been no indigenous African writing system for his language.
N’ko came first into use in Kankan, Guinea as a Maninka alphabet and disseminated from there
into other Manding-speaking parts of West Africa. N’ko and the Arabic script are still in use for
Bambara, although the Latin script is much more common.

Bambara People

Music using Bambara language

Malian artists such as Oumou Sangaré, Rokia Traoré, Ali Farka Touré, Salif Keita, Habib Koité,
and the blind couple Amadou & Mariam often sing in Bambara. Aïda of the band Métisse often
sings in Dioula, as does Mory Kante, born in Guinea to a Malian mother; his most famous song to
date is “Yeke Yeke” (Alpha Blondy). Lyrics in Bambara occur on Stevie Wonder’s soundtrack
Journey through the Secret Life of Plants. Tiken Jah Fakoly (reggae) often sings in Dioula and
French.
Additionally, in 2010, Spanish rock group Dover released their 7th studio album I Ka Kené with
the majority of lyrics in the language.

History

The Bamana originated as a royal section of the Mandinka people. They are founders of the Mali
Empire in the 13th Century. Both Manding and Bambara are part of the Mandé ethnic group,
whose earliest known history can be traced back to sites near Tichitt (now subsumed by the
Sahara in southern Mauritania), where urban centers began to emerge by as early as 2500 BC. By
250 BC, a Mandé subgroup, the Bozo, founded the city of Djenne. Between 300 AD and 1100
AD, the Soninke Mandé dominated the Western Mali, leading the Ghana Empire. When the
Mandé Songhai Empire dissolved after 1600 AD, many Mandé-speaking groups along the upper
Niger river basin turned inward. The Bamana appeared again in this milieu with the rise of a
Bamana Empire in the 1740s, when the Mali Empire started to crumble around 1559.

Bambara people

While there is little consensus among modern historians and ethnologists as to the origins or
meaning of the ethno-linguistic term, references to the name Bambara can be found from the early
18th century. In addition to its general use as a reference to an ethno-linguistic group, Bambara
was also used to identify captive Africans who originated in the interior of Africa perhaps from
the upper Senegal-Niger region and transported to the Americas via ports on the Senegambian
coast. As early as 1730 at the slave-trading post of Gorée, the term Bambara referred simply to
slaves who were already in the service of the local elites or French.

Bambara people

Growing from farming communities in Ouassoulou, between Sikasso and Ivory Coast, Bamana-
age co-fraternities (called Tons) began to develop a state structure which became the Bambara
Empire and later Mali Empire. In stark contrast to their Muslim neighbors, the Bamana state
practised and formalised traditional polytheistic religion, though Muslim communities remained
locally powerful, if excluded from the central state at Ségou.
The Bamana became the dominant cultural community in western Mali. The Bambara language,
mutually intelligible with the Maning and Dyula languages, has become the principal inter-ethnic
language in Mali and one of the official languages of the state alongside French

Bambara people old picture

First names

Generally, Bamanankan give first names to their children according to the order of birth. The first
son is Nci, the second is Ngolo, and the third is Nzanke. It is usual also that the first son bears the
name of the father. But it is clear that since the arrival of Islam, Bamanankan converts, more and
more numerous, have taken Muslim first names. In doing so, their children and grandchildren no
longer carry traditional names because they are given the first name of the Muslim grandfather
even when the parents themselves are not Muslims. It is even common to meet children born in
Christian families have Muslim names because of the person who is honored by giving his name
to the child.

Scarification

In Mali, some ethnic groups wear scarification to distinguish themselves from others. This
tendency tends to be lost and we meet less and less. However, the scarifications do not always
refer to ethnicity, tribe, clan, or name. They can also the birth place of the individual.

Religion

Although most Bamana today adhere to Islam, many still practise the traditional rituals, especially
in honoring ancestors. This form of syncretic Islam remains rare, even allowing for conversions
that in many cases happened in the mid to late 19th century. This recent history, though,
contributes to the richness and fame (in the West) of Bamana ritual arts.
Bambara People

Social structure

Bamana share many aspects of broader Mandé social structure. Society is patrilineal and
patriarchal, though virtually no women wear a veil. Mandé culture is known for its strong
fraternal orders and sororities (Ton) and the history of the Bambara Empire strengthened and
preserved these orders. The first state was born as a refashioning of hunting and youth Tons into a
warrior caste. As conquests of their neighbors were successful, the state created the Jonton (Jon =
slave/kjell-slave), or slave warrior caste, replenished by warriors captured in battle. While slaves
were excluded from inheritance, the Jonton leaders forged a strong corporate identity. Their raids
fed the Segu economy with goods and slaves for trade, and bonded agricultural laborers who were
resettled by the state.

Caste

Traditionally, Mandé society is hierarchal or caste-based, with nobility and vassals. Bamana
political order created a small free nobility, set in the midst of endogamous caste and ethnic
variation. Both castes and ethnic groups performed vocational roles in the Bamana state, and this
differentiation increased with time. For instance, the Maraka merchants developed towns focused
first on desert side trade, and latter on large-scale agricultural production using slaves captured by
the state. The Jula specialised in long-distance trade, as did Fula communities within the state,
who added this to cattle herding. The Bozo ethnicity were created largely out of war captives, and
turned by the state to fishing and ferrying communities.

In addition to this, the Bamana maintained internal castes, like other Mandé peoples, with Griot
historian/praise-singers, priests, metalworkers, and other specialist vocations remaining
endogamous and living in designated areas. Formerly, like most other African societies, they also
held slaves (“Jonw”/”Jong(o)”), often war prisoners from lands surrounding their territory. With
time, and the collapse of the Bamana state, these caste differences have eroded, though vocations
have strong family and ethnic correlations.
Bambara People

The Ton

The Bamana have continued in many places their tradition of caste and age group inauguration
societies, known as Ton. While this is common to most Mandé societies, the Ton tradition is
especially strong in Bamana history. Tons can be by sex (initiation rites for young men and
women), age (the earlier young men’s Soli Ton living separately from the community and
providing farm labor prior to taking wives), or vocation (the farming Chi Wara Ton or the hunters
Donzo Ton). While these societies continue as ways of socialising and passing on traditions, their
power and importance faded in the 20th century.

Bambara art

The Bamana people adapted many artistic traditions. Artworks were created both for religious use
and to define cultural and religious difference. Bamana artistic traditions include pottery ,
sculpture, weaving, iron figures, and masks. While the tourist and art market is the main
destination of modern Bamana artworks, most artistic traditions had been part of sacred
vocations, created as a display of religious beliefs and used in ritual.

Bamana forms of art include the n’tomo mask and the Tyi Warra. The n’tomo mask was used by
dancers at male initiation ceremonies. The Tyi Warra (or ciwara) headdress was used at harvest
time by young men chosen from the farmers association. Other Bamana statues include fertility
statues, meant to be kept with the wife at all times to ensure fertility, and statues created for
vocational groups such as hunters and farmers, often used as offering places by other groups after
prosperous farming seasons or successful hunting parties.

Each special creative trait a person obtained was seen as a different way to please higher spirits .
Powers throughout the Bamana art making world were used to please the ancestral spirits and
show beauty in what they believed in.
Bambara art

Economy

The Bambara are traditionally subsistence farmers. Millet is their main crop. Their next largest
crops are sorghum and groundnuts. These three crops are their main agricultural outputs. In
private gardens maize, cassava, tobacco, and many other vegetables are grown.

The Bambara also hunt animals such as boar, ostrich, guinea fowl, and antelope for meat and
skins as well as collect honey from wild bees. However, this is not their only source of meat and
skins. To help with the farming the Bambara own cattle, goats, horses, sheep, and chickens.
Although the herding of these animals is actually tended to by a neighboring culture called the
Fulani in exchange for millet, sorghum, and groundnuts.
The Bambara also earn Income by selling various types of art. This includes pottery, weaving,
leather work, sculpture, and masks. However, they are most known for their sculptures and
elaborate masks. Each mask represents a different point in the initiation and education of the men.
Men are trained in their respective crafts as apprentices for at least eight years before being
allowed to sell their wares in urban centers for profit.
Bambara people

Sexual division of production

“Among the Bamana, women, in addition to taking care of many household chores, work most of
their lives in the collective fields of their husband’s extended family. Once women reach
menopause they retire from work in the collective fields and often redirect their efforts in the
cultivation of their own fields.

Women are also very active in trade activities. Postmenopausal women, as in many other parts in
Africa, are freer to engage more extensively in trade activities than are women of childbearing
[sic] age.

However, women sell mainly food items, both raw and processed, and a few manufactured goods
(e.g. cloth), while men engage more often in the sale of manufactured goods. In other words,
women’s access to market participation tends to be limited to a series of economic activities
which are scarcely lucrative, or at least less so if compared to the business in which men engage.”

Land tenure

“Prior to colonization, land was not a commodity. Among the Bamana agriculturists, access to
the land (that is, the right to cultivate a piece of land, not individual ownership) was often
mediated by the so-called “land chief” who [sic] was often a respected elder from the first family
to settle in the area.
The land chief was In charge of distributing the land among the various lineages of the village. He
was also responsible for the celebration of various sacrifices, in particular to the shrine of the
spirits in charge of protecting the village, the so-called dasiri (a cluster of trees and shrubs).
Lineage members would collectively cultivate the land and the lineage chief would be in charge
of the redistribution of resources among individual households according to their perceived needs.

However, conflicts among households of the same lineage would periodically erupt and often lead
to further fissions within the lineage. Besides collective farming, individuals of both genders
could cultivate smaller fields on the side and independently manage their revenues. The colonial
conquest has greatly complicated the issue of property. At the present, local systems for the
allocation of property, Islamic law, and colonially derived property rules (mostly affecting parcels
in urban areas) coexist, but not without conflict, side by side.
Bambara People

Social structure

Bamana share many aspects of broader Mandé social structure. Society is patrilineal and
patriarchal, though virtually no women wear a veil. Mandé culture is known for its strong
fraternal orders and sororities (Ton) and the history of the Bambara Empire strengthened and
preserved these orders. The first state was born as a refashioning of hunting and youth Tons into a
warrior caste. As conquests of their neighbors were successful, the state created the Jonton (Jon =
slave/kjell-slave), or slave warrior caste, replenished by warriors captured in battle. While slaves
were excluded from inheritance, the Jonton leaders forged a strong corporate identity. Their raids
fed the Segu economy with goods and slaves for trade, and bonded agricultural laborers who were
resettled by the state.

Family Structure

The Bambara people trace their heritage through patilineal decent. Patrilocal extended families
act as the political structure in Bambara culture. These extended family groups can comprise
between 100-1000 members. Young men’s position in their initiation groups plays a significant
role in their position within the village in the future.

For the most part, each extended family group makes up its own village. These villages consist of
many different households, or gwa. Members of each household work collectively to provide for
everyone who lives there. Homes within the village are usually bigger than those in other African
societies, often comprising of up to 60 or more family members.
Each village or extended family is known by its symbol, usually an animal. There is a great deal
of loyalty among villages of the Bambara. The eldest male in the family is respected as the village
chief. When a chief passes away, that authority is passed down to the oldest living male.

Kinship Terminology

The kinship terminology used by the Bambara is indicative of their patrilocal society. Bambara
use different words to classify their parallel and cross cousins.

The same word used for siblings also applies to paternal cousins, but not for cousins on the
maternal side. Similarly, people call their nieces and nephews on the paternal side “child,”
however they do not refer to their maternal nieces and nephews in this way.

Marriage Customs

Bambara females are usually engaged between ages of four and ten. It is very unusual for girls
between the ages of twelve to sixteen to still be unsure of who they are going to marry. Rather
than focusing on looks, Bambara males look for hard-working women, who cook well and are
productive.

High marriage costs are viewed as an investment. Marriage is a means for having children, which
in turn will increase the work force and reinforce the family name. Bambara women have an
average of eight children during their lifetime. The majority of women (including the elderly) are
married, as a man’s status increases by having a wife.

The male “household head” finds suitable partners and arranges the marriages for all the males
within the household. This includes paying the bride-price as well as arranging the wedding.
Bambara culture does not permit people to marry within their own lineage. Although Bambara is
patrilocal, women do keep their original lineage name after they marry. Polygamy is common
among the Bambara. Additionally, it is very rare for widowed women to remain alone. After their
husband passes away, she is usually inherited by another male close in the family to her husband.

Bambara People
Gender and Sexual Orientation

In Bambara society, women are seen just usually wear a rag or loincloth around their hips, with
their breasts exposed. This constant exposure, the Bambara believe, desensitize men from
desiring women, as they are always around nearly naked women.

Also, women are used to being seen as objects to men, being often harassed and bossed around by
men. Men are often seen chatting about topics such as sex and other vile topics that are considered
taboo for women to discuss. Men further separate women by at one point in the night, isolating all
young girls to a communal living space, where an older women watches over them to make sure
no boys are coming for them for companionship during the night.

Men and women also have secret societies, broken up by gender. Each society for women is
organized by age as well as how far they are in their initiation process. Males, on the other hand,
have brotherhoods. Both of these type of groups are completely off limits to non-members and
cannot be entered by the other gender.

At birth, the baby is washed with millet beer. The patriarch of the clan (the oldest living male
member) shakes the beer on the baby’s head 3 or 4 times to purify the child of the spirit of death.
In the Bambara culture, there is a demand for circumcision with both sexes. Because of its close
ties to Mohammed, it is considered a rite of passage where it embodies both civil and religious
duties. The actual act of circumcision follows a very strict practice, incorporating four festivals
into one religious passage. On the second day of celebrations, those who will be circumcised are
deemed the soli and need to offer to the higher members of society called the to-n-déou. In order
to do so, they must complete soli kili basi, which requires them to sing and beg at each home
within the community.

The night prior to the circumcision (d’lo), the two genders are separated into their own groups for
each sex. The candidates are covered with white, yellow, and red paint on their foreheads and are
covered by blankets. Boys are shaved and greased, and girls hair are done in a neat manner, with
the girls wearing loincloths provided by their husbands-to-be that they have to wear, with colors
corresponding to their tribe and level in society. At circumcision of women, the village potter,
and the village blacksmith’s wife, in front of her parents, circumcise girls age fifteen. In Bamana
culture, the clitoris represents the male aspect of the woman, and the foreskin represents the
female of the man. The blood is collected and given to her fiancé, who then offers it to his
ancestors. For male circumcision, the boy is led to the center of the village where he is
circumcised by the fa of his clan. After this, he is considered fertile, and can be married.

Once the soli are circumcised and healed, they have another ceremony of the boloko déou don bo
to conclude the event. This ceremony is important in showing how in some aspects of Bambara
life, there is some similarities between sexes, however, men still dominate the Bambara culture.

Bambara Initiation Societies

The jo society has become a sort of framework for other initiation society. Until a few decades
ago, initiation was obligatory for every young man. Jo initiations take place every seven years,
after candidates receive six years of special training.
During this time, the young men go through a ritual death and live one week in the bush before
returning to the village. There they publicly perform the dances and songs they have learned in the
bush, and receive small presents from spectators. After a ritual bath that signals the end of their
animal life, the new initiates become “Jo children.”

Initially the ntomo was a society for uncircumcised boys. Today it closely resembles various
Western associations in its bureaucratic structure and its administrative and membership fees .
There are two main style groups of their masks.

Bambara people society

One is characterized by an oval face with four to ten horns in a row on top like a comb, often
covered with cowries or dried red berries. The other type has a ridged nose, a protruding mouth, a
superstructure of vertical horns, in the middle of which or in front of which is a standing figure or
an animal. The ntomo masks with thin mouths underscore the virtue of silence and the importance
of controlling one’s speech.

During their time in ntomo the boys learn to accept discipline. They do not yet have access to the
secret knowledge related to korè and other initiation societies.

The korè society is perceived by the Bambara people as the “father of the rain and thunder.”
Every seven years a new age-set of teenagers experiences a symbolic death and rebirth into the
korè society through initiation rituals whose symbols relate to fire and masculinity. Initiations
take place in the sacred wood, where the youths are harassed by elders and the clown-like
performers called korédugaw. In their general form and detail, a group of korè masks conveys
concepts such as knowledge, courage, and energy through the representation of hyenas, lions,
monkeys, antelopes, and horses. In addition there are masks of the nama, which protect against
sorcerers.

The komo Is the custodian of tradition and is concerned with all aspects of community life –
agriculture, judicial processes, and passage rites. Its masks are of elongated animal form
decorated with actual horns of antelope, quills of porcupine, bird skulls, and other objects. Their
headdress, worn horizontally, consists of an animal, covered with mud, with open jaw; often
horns and feathers are attached.
Masks of the kono, which enforces civic morality, are also elongated and encrusted with
sacrificial material. The kono masks were also used in agricultural rituals, mostly to petition for a
good harvest. They usually represent an animal head with long open snout and long ears standing
in a V from the head, often covered with mud. In contrast to komo masks, which are covered with
feathers, horns and teeth, those of the kono society are elegant and simple.

Komo society mask, used in the second of the successive initiations that include masked dancers
and sacrifices presented at the society’s altars. The purpose of Komo initiation is to commence the
spirit of knowledge; to reveal to the Bamana boys self-knowledge and the advancement of
personal qualities. The Bamana refer to the masks as komo kun, meaning “head of the Komo,”
however more specific and individual names are also given to differentiate their special abilities .
Common characteristics found in the majority of Komo masks include bird feathers and quills,
porcupine quills, antelope horns, and mouths shaped similarly to those of a hyena. The hyena jaws
give emphasis to the animal’s power and force, seen as symbol of knowledge. The masked
dancers wear the Komo masks on the top of their heads, instead of in front of the face, and express
their power through exhaling columns of embers or phosphorescent material. Other supernatural
rituals are also practiced during the initiation with the goal to nurture balance in the community.

The tji wara society members use a headdress representing, in the form of an antelope, the
mythical being who taught men how to farm. The word tji means “work” and wara means
“animal,” thus “working animal.” There are antelopes with vertical or horizontal direction of the
horns. In the past the purpose of the tji wara association was to encourage cooperation among all
members of the community to ensure a successful crop. In recent time, however, the Bambara
concept of tji wara has become associated with the notion of good farmer, and the tji wara
masqueraders are regarded as a farming beast. The Bambara sponsor farming contests where the
tji wara masqueraders perform. Always performing together in a male and female pair, the
coupling of the antelope masqueraders speaks of fertility and agricultural abundance.

According to one interpretation, the male antelope represents the sun and the female the earth.
The antelope imagery of the carved headdress was inspired by a Bambara myth that recounts the
story of a mythical beast (half antelope and half human) who introduced agriculture to the
Bambara people. The dance performed by the masqueraders mimes the movements of the
antelope.

Antelope headdress in the vertical style, found in eastern Bambara territory, have a pair of upright
horns. The male antelopes are decorated with a mane consisting of rows of openwork zigzag
patterns and gracefully curved horns, while the female antelope supports baby antelopes on their
back and have straight horns. The dancers appeared holding two sticks in their hands, their leaps
imitating the jumps of the antelopes. From the artistic point of view the tji wara are probably the
finest examples of stylized African art, for with a delicate play of line the sensitive carvings
display the natural beauty of the living antelope.

In traditional African societies, a childless marriage is a grave problem. 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. Gwan sculptures occur in groups and are normally enshrined. An
ensemble includes a mother-and-child figure, the father, and several other male and female
figures. They are considered to be extremely beautiful. They illustrate ideals of physical beauty
and ideals of character and action. The figures are brought out of the shrine to appear in annual
public ceremonies. At such times, the figures are washed and oiled and then dressed in loincloths,
head ties, and beads, all of which are contributed by the women of the village. The size of the
statues may vary from 12 inches to 4 feet. The figures are usually with a dignified air. Some have
the arms separated from the body, flat palms facing forward, the hands sometimes attached to the
thighs. They may have crest-like hairdos with several braids falling on their breasts. In the same
style, representations of musicians and of lance-carrying warriors are found. There are also
carvings with Janus head. Ancestor figures of the Bambara clearly derive from the same artistic
tradition, as do many of those of the Dogon. Rectangular intersection of flat planes is a stylistic
feature common to Bambara and Dogon sculpture.

Religion
The Bambara high god is conceived of as a grain from which three other divine “persons,” and
finally, the whole of creation, are born. Bambara theology and religion are complex. Deep
religious speculations exist among the Bambara sages and are transmitted orally without
codification.

The Bambara believe In one god, Bemba, or Ngala, who is the creator of all things and has, in a
way, created himself as a quaternity. This quaternity consists of Bemba himself, Mousso Koroni
Koundyé (or Nyale), Faro, and Ndomadyiri; the last three correspond to the four elements—air,
fire, water, and earth. Before the creation Bemba was named Koni and was, in a sense, “thought”
(miri ) dwelling in a void; he is also the “void” itself (lankolo ). Accordingly, he cannot be
perceived by humans using their usual senses. His existence is manifested as a force: a whirlwind,
thought, or vibration that contains the signs of all uncreated things.

Bemba realized the creation of the world in three stages, each corresponding to one of the three
other divine beings. In the first stage, called dali folo (“creation of the beginning”), the naked
earth is created. God is known as Pemba in this stage, and he manifests himself in the form of a
grain, from which grows an acacia (Balanza ). This tree soon withers, falls to the ground, and
decays.

Death

For the funeral, the dead body has its head shaved and it has its outside whitewashed with a paste
made of cowries and water. Seven days later, a feast is held in the persons honor. The clan mourns
for forty days, at which time, the corpse is considered an ancestor.
Art

Art hold special place in Bambara culture. To them every piece of art holds a significance in
either a religious, societal, or technical way. Despite an early tradition of bronze and terracotta
working in the neighbourhood, their creative art today is predominantly in wood.

Wood carvers belong to the caste of the blacksmiths. They make tools for agriculture as well as
ritual objects. They enjoy a special position in the community, and do not intermarry with the rest
of the tribe.

Bamana religious life and social structure is traditionally based upon fraternal groups or societies
which regulate agricultural work, judge disputes and provide protection against evil spirits and
sickness. They each have their own initiation rites and rituals, usually relating to some aspect of
fertility. Bamana craftsmen fashion masks and figures for the observance of these societies’
rituals.

There are at least five principle societies in Bamana culture. Each has its own type of mask, the
style and symbolism of which would be understood by initiates. Characteristic of Bamana masks
is a combination of human faces, animal horns and bird feathers, covered with a coating of
riverine mud and thus fusing the elements of water, air and earth. The Bamana are well known for
their antelope masks which represent the fabulous being, half man half animal, who taught them
how to cultivate the earth.
The existence of standing male figures among the Bamana is well-documented, Those that are
known are linked to annual ceremonies of the “”Guan”” Society, and they are quite rare. This
seated personage is known as a Jomooni or Gwandusu among the Bamana, an important visual
component of the Jo initiation society for young boys (and girls) called masiriw literally the visual
ornaments of Jow.

Located primarily among the southern Bamana, Jo initiation takes place over a span of years in
which the young initiates undergo training and instructions leading to their admission to society as
adults instructed in the secrets of Bamana religion and philosophy. This male figure holds
weapons in hands and wears a carved hat with protective amulets or charms and animal horns
compared to the real hat worn by digintaries among the Bamana. The long standing presence of
Islam among the Bamana is reflected in the magical and protective amulets that in many instances
contain a verse from the Koran that adorn the hat blending Bamana local animist religion and
Islam.

Chi Wara

The Bambara attributed their success to the lessons learned from a half-human, half-animal deity
called chi wara, “working wild animal.” Chi wara (or tsi wara), with his hooves and his mother’s
pointed stick, tilled the soil and turned wild grasses into grain. But because the people wasted the
grain, chi wara returned to the earth. The farmers then created art and dance to recall him and his
powers over nature.
These headdresses feature the antelope, giving visual form to important religious beliefs about
fertility and growth. They were worn in dances at the beginning of the rainy season (or when a
fallow field was re-seeded) to assure a good harvest.

Dancers who wore these headdresses covered their bodies with long grasses and cloth. They went
bent over using two canes, believing that if they stood upright, they would offend the deity. The
dancers accompanied farmers to the fields, supervised the planting, and then returned to the
village where they danced. The dance consisted of jumps, sudden leaps and turns reminiscent of
the actions of the antelope.

Three different styles of chi wara headdresses have been associated with distinct geographic areas
within Mali. The first is a vertical style in which the body and legs of the male antelope are small,
but the mane, nuzzle and horns are elongated and elaborated. Its open work mane with a zigzag
pattern is said to represent the course of the sun across the sky during the agricultural year.

The female antelope In contrast is depicted simply as carrying a young on its back. This vertical
style is typically found in the eastern parts of Mali (Segou region). The second is a horizontal
representation of the antelope, generally more accurately showing the proportions of the animal.
These are found in the northwest (Bamako region). The third type, from the southwest (Bougouni
region), is highly abstract, generally smaller and included forms primarily of the antelope, but
also of the aardvark and the pangolin (scaly anteater)

Music
Music is a privileged art among the Bambara. It is often used in religious ceremonies as well as in
divinations and medicinal practice. Music is either sung or made by instruments of their own
making.

The chief Instrument is the drum, also called the tabale. It was reserved for kings and chiefs and
created from metal, often copper. The drums themselves were pieces of art, each being delicately
crafted and stylized. They would contain engravings in the frame of the drum. The drumstick used
to play the drum would also be adorned with bells.

A second commonly used instrument was a guitar or ngoni. These guitars would have rectangular
frames and eight strings. At the end of the handle there would be bells attached, just like on the
drums, holding religious significance. Harps were often used in a variety of ceremonies including
sacrifices, cathartic and medical rites, purifications, aprotropaic rites and solitary meditations .

DISCLAIMER:

The information contained in this document about Zerbamawa Tribe is based on research from
[Link] . Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information
presented. However, cultural interpretations and historical accounts can vary, and any errors or
omissions are unintentional.
 GROUP H BAMBARA MEMBER NAMES & MATRIC NUMBER

S/ NAMES MATRIC REMARKS

N NUMBER

1. Adinnu Eberechukwu Jeremiah 230605014 The leader of the Group H, Bambara tribe.
He is very active, vibrant, enthusiastic and
accommodating. His dedication in the group
has been inspiration to all the group
members. He attended 100% of the group's
total rehearsals and meetings, contributed
financially also.

2. Olupinla Emmanuela Funmilola 230605025 The representative of the group in the

executive [Link] is very active,
charismatic,influential and [Link]
attended 100% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings,also contributed
financially.

3. Habila Gadaje Daniel 230605225 He is a quite active member and energetic,

contributed financially [Link] attended
95% of the group's total rehearsals and
meetings.

4. Oladimeji Glory Bukunmi 230605269 She is an active member of the group and
has contributed financially and
[Link] atttended 50% of the
group's total rehearsals and meetings.

5. Ibitoye Opeyemi Michael 230605136 He is an average active member,but

dynamic and also contributed [Link]
attended 100% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings.

6. Oluwole Oluwatobilola Israel 230605260 He is a less active member,but contributed

[Link] attended 65% of the group's
 total rehearsals and meetings.

7. Dorsum Toyosi Tunmise 230605088 She is an active member of the [Link] is

a visionary member and contributed
financially [Link] attended 95% of the
group's total rehearsals and meetings.

8. Abdul-kareeem Mubarak Bidemi 230605107 He is very reviving, committed, loyal and

ornamental and very active. Attended 85%
of the group's total rehearsals and
meetings.

9. Akinjise Havilah oluwajomiloju 230605246 She is an fairly active and passionate

[Link] contributed financially and
attended 55% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings.

10. Adekunle moromoke omobolanle 230605293 She is an ambitious and fairly active
[Link] contributed financially and
attended 70% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings.

11. Omoboye Matthew oluwasegun 230605171 He is corporate and an active member.

He contributed financially and she attended

65% of the group's total rehearsals and
meetings.

12. Agboola Samson Oluwasegun 230605048 He is a collaborative and an active

[Link] contributed financially and she
attended 60% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings.

13. Daniyan Victor Adeshina 230605222 He is an authentic and active [Link]

contributed financially and she attended
90% of the group's total rehearsals and
meetings.

14. Balogun Bola Joy 230605208 She is resilient and partially active member
of the group. She contributed financially
and he attended 60% of the group's total
rehearsals and meetings.

15. Ifedayo Faith Odunayo 230605146 She is a creative and active [Link]
contributed financially and attended 75%
percent of the group's total rehearsals and
meetings.