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Beaded bandel, approx.
18" x 17" (19th-20th century); Fernando Ortiz Collection,
La Casa de Africa, Havana. |
Ramiro Hernández Almiráll, Banté for the Iyá, cotton cloth, glass beads, rhinestones, resin, cowrie shells, paint; 23” long; 32” at the wide end; Havana; date unknown (1970s?). Ramiro Hernández, a noted drummer, dancer, and designer, was among the founding performers of the National Folklore Group of Cuba (Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba), formed in 1963. A priest of Obatalá, he died at the end of 2000 (see Conjunto photography gallery in this site).
This banté (alt bandel) features Changó’s
thunderaxe in orange beads and rhinestones (left), a central figure composed
of large red and white beads that doubles as thunderaxe and Royal Palm,
Changós sacred tree. The figure of Eleguá, whose face is
fashioned of painted resin and cowrie shells, marks the meeting of the
tree’s horizontal and vertical axis. The low-relief tree-axe is flanked
to the right by a beaded rooster. This banté might be somewhat
unusual, as it obviously speaks of Changó, though the Iyá
drum’s adornments very commonly revolve around the iconography of
Obatalá.
A banté or apron (from the Yoruba for “loincloth”
[bànté]), covers each conscrated batá drum
when the ensemble plays in a ritual setting. The set of batá
de fundamento is a sacred object, and like the orishas, when
presented in public ceremonial occasions, is “dressed” in order
to highlight its status and to look its best. Consecrated drums are, in
fact, embodied spiritual beings. Any given banté might be
very densely sewn from border-to-border with glass beads, cowrie shells,
mirrors, and rhinestones (see illustration above),, or more sparely beaded
according to economic means or aesthetic preference. Hernández’s
signature adornment was the rosette composed of rhinestones and beads.
Banté designs showcase orisha iconography, particularly as related to the historias (legends) of the odu of Ifá, odu that, undoubtedly, related to the particular conditions under which the Añá spirit of a consecrated set of drums was "born," as well as the identity of its lineage and owners. Some sets of drums are further adorned with equally lavish bandas or corbatas—literally “neckties”—around the circumference of each of the six drum mouthes in the set.
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