N’Gonzon koun headdress
At the start of a new agricultural season, the dancing of elegant paired ci wara headdresses rallied communal farming efforts. The master blacksmiths who carved these examples harnessed nyama (life force) to invest their creations with endless innovative originality. Depending on the region in which they were based, blacksmiths favored one of two major approaches. In the east, the towering, attenuated male headdress was modeled on the dege (roan antelope), while the delicate female corollary references the sogo-ni (oryx). To the west, the roan antelope was interpreted as equivalent gendered pairs whose design emphasizes the horizontality of the creature’s head through sweeping extensions of its horns, as in this example. Within these broad categories, an array of individual interpretations and subgenres developed.
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