Bamana Puppet Hobby Horse Mali 42 Inch

An interesting puppet from the Bamana. The puppet portrays a horse with a saddle on its back. On the back, the artist had represented a saddle. The long neck as well as the rope to the head help to carry the piece and move it around during the performance. 

Such marionettes were used during a public masquerade in the region around the Bamana city of Segou. This festival is a long tradition found among the Bamana and the Bozo. Performed today by the young men of the region it was first adapted from the Bozo people living along the Niger River.  Dance troops of young men, members of local youth groups, sing, dance, drum, and manipulate puppets in creating performances called Sogo Bo.  Though considered to be a form of entertainment, the performances are directed towards a description of the moral universe the imperfection of humans, and the need to educate people as regards ethical behavior and how to attain a religious way of life.

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