Headdress (Zigiren-Wɔndɛ)
Arts of Africa
This headdress is known as zigiren-wunde, or “the new bride.” Entirely secular in nature, it celebrates the role of Baga women in both human and agricultural fertility, and in nurturing the community.
The zigiren-wunde is owned and performed by groups of young men solely for entertainment, especially at weddings. The performer wears it on top of the head, grasping the leglike projections at the base of the mask to steady it. These “shoulders” are draped with cloth, leaving the figure’s breasts exposed, and the costume is completed with the addition of a skirt of palm fiber.
MEDIUM
Wood, upholstery stud
DATES
late 19th–early 20th century
DIMENSIONS
33 x 7 3/4 x 9 in. (83.8 x 19.7 x 22.9 cm)
Base height: 2 in. (5.1 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
74.66.5
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Marcia and John Friede
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Possibly Baga. Headdress (Zigiren-Wɔndɛ), late 19th–early 20th century. Wood, upholstery stud, 33 x 7 3/4 x 9 in. (83.8 x 19.7 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marcia and John Friede, 74.66.5. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 74.66.5_PS1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 74.66.5_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
