Iron Skin: The Symbolism of Bamana Mud Cloth

"Iron skin: The Symbolism of Bamana and Cloth" is a study of Bamana (Bambara) culture based on a detailed analysis of mud cloth patterns and their symbolism. Both techniques and traditional compositional rules are analyzed in terms of their relationship to Bamana conceptions of human personality. Given this basis for discussion, the historical development of mud cloth styles is considered. First the ornate, 'Islamic' style of the Central and Northern Beledougou is analyzed in relation to Berber patterns of the Sahara desert. This complex style which evolved from centuries of contact with Islamicized Berbers is considered to be the high point of mud cloth design and is labelled 'classical'. Secondly, another much older and simpler style, epitomized by the N'Gale pattern, is analyzed in terms of geographic distribution oral history and written historical data. This 'archaic' style is found to originate among the Minianka in Southeastern Mali. The persistence of the 'archaic' style in the Central Beledougou, the rituals in which it is used and its geographic distribution suggests that it formed a base on which the complex, 'classical' style of the Central Beledougou could take shape. That this 'archaic' style originated among the Minianka suggests that a far larger proportion of Bamana are actually of Minianka blacksmith descent than has hitherto been thought. The geographic dispersion of the Minianka blacksmiths with their 'archaic' style of mud cloth design is attributed to slavery and the Bamana are seen as being an ethnic group whose identity is intimately linked to an economy based on slave labor. Finally, the ritual functions of "red" cloth are discussed. "Red" cloth is found to be used by both men and women in situations which require the shedding of blood. In symbolic terms the mud cloths which absorb ritual blood become 'children'. Whereas women paint mud cloth, symbolically re-enacting the process of childbirth, men construct ritually charged assemblages which function as their 'children'. The cloth itself is perceived as skin. Because the skin is the visible wrapping which encloses human spirit it is believed to possess enormous spiritual power, and this power is automatically transferred to its symbolic substitute: mud cloth. Several essential themes recur. These themes are: the importance of slavery in the history of the Bamana people, the balance between male and female power in Bamana society, the role of ritualized violence in the shaping of human personality and the overwhelming importance of human procreation as a model for artistic creation. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)