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| Folklife Festival 2003 > Mali > Crafts > Jewelry |
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jewelry |
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| ALL THAT GLITTERS |
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To place jewelry on
a woman is to put light in the house.
-Hady Koné, jeweler |
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| Intricately
worked jewelry in gold, silver, and copper is not only an object of
beauty for those who wear and admire it. For women, it is also an
economic resource-a form of wealth, in this case portable wealth,
like a bond that can be carried around and cashed in if needed. Its
forms and materials also carry meanings. Silver symbolizes light and
luck, gold success, and copper is often worn for protection. Certain
classical jewelry styles are associated with particular ethnic groups,
such as the silver crosses and amulets worn by Tuareg women and men,
and the large gold earrings once popular among Fulani (Peul) women.
Contemporary styles speak to a more national Malian identity: necklaces
may feature a representation of ci wara, the mask/headdress that has
become a national Malian symbol, or a gold map of Mali. West African
women's fashion magazines also popularize jewelry fashions from Senegal
and Côte d'Ivoire.
In most ethnic groups, jewelers are member of
blacksmith families. Using casting and forging techniques, they
create sumptuous necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The most successful
jewelers respond creatively to the changing tastes of their clients
by continually adding new forms and styles to the repertoire of
more classical forms.
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| Coming to the Festival... |
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| Tuareg Jewelry, Allasane Ag
Agaly, Gao |
| —Allasane Ag Agaly makes Tuareg
jewelry with silver, bronze, ebony, stones and leather He makes teapots,
and sabers, knives and won the UNESCO First Prize at SIAO 2000 in
Ouagadougou, the regional craft exhibition, for one of his highly
decorated silver teapots. |
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| Traditional Jewelry, Amadou
Samasekou, Mopti |
| —Amadou Samesekou, from a family
of well-known jewelers, makes traditional forms of gold and silver
jewelry. He produced jewelry for the French company Hermès.
He makes the famous large Fulani gold earrings.
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| Modern Jewelry, Hady Kone,
Bamako |
| —Hady Kone makes gold
and silver jewelry with modern designs. He comes from a family of
jewelers in Segou. |
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| Modern Jewlery, Mamadou Gueye
Thiam, Kayes |
| —Mamadou Gueye Thiam
is known for his gold and silver rings, pendants, and earrings. |
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