page_title: Tchaman
hierarchical_section_title: Tchaman
caption_attribution_description: English: A coiled snake with head facing downward, holding a toad in its mouth. It was cast cire perdue and constructed of fine adjacent threads. There are 3 hooks for suspension. Condition: good, except for crude repair to metal next to supporting loops. English: In societies without hereditary chiefs, such as the Akan-speaking peoples of southern C&#244;te d'Ivoire, political and economic elevation remained open to people with the initiative and skill to advance. Once established as a community leader, an individual commissioned his or her own personal regalia, such as this pendant. To reinforce the point, a person of prominence eventually arranged an &#8220;exhibition of gold&#8221; to display the depth of his or her personal wealth and to entertain (and feed) the community. The Ebri&#233; say on such occasions that &#8220;he or she has added something to the family chest.&#8221; PROVENANCE Museum records suggest that this snake pendant may have once been found in the personal collection of Abrogoua, a &#8220;king&#8221; (or, at least, a powerful chief) of the Ebri&#233; who died in 1811. From there, it entered the Paris collection of Charles Ratton, a pioneering early dealer in both African and medieval art, who arranged to have the pendant shown in an ethnographic context at the Trocad&#233;ro museum, in Paris. In 1938 Ratton sold the work to Frederick Pleasants, a leader in the developing aesthetic approach to African art in New York, who would later serve as curator of the African collection at Brooklyn. In 1944 the pendant found its way into the collection of Alastair B. Martin, an important mid-twentieth-century collector in New York, who finally offered it to Brooklyn.
context_page_description: The Tchaman or Ébrié are an Akan people living in the Abidjan region of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally called the "Tchaman/Kyama/Gyama" or "Achan", the name Ébrié was given to them by the neighboring Abouré people. In the Abouré language, Ébrié means "bad" and was given to them after a military defeat. In turn, however, they refer to the Abouré as "Koroman," which means "dirty people" in the Tchaman, Kyaman, or Gyaman language. The traditional lands of the Tchaman/Kyaman/Gyaman lie along the Ébrié Lagoon, which extends from Grand-Bassam to Assagni and includes the city of Abidjan and its environs. The Tchaman make up approximately 0.7% of the population of Côte d'Ivoire.
context_section_description: The Tchaman or Ébrié are an Akan people living in the Abidjan region of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally called the "Tchaman/Kyama/Gyama" or "Achan" (both of which mean "the chosen ones" in the Ebrié language), the name Ébrié was given to them by the neighboring Abouré people. In the Abouré language, Ébrié means "bad" and was given to them after a military defeat. In turn, however, they refer to the Abouré as "Koroman," which means "dirty people" in the Tchaman, Kyaman, or Gyaman (Achan) language. The traditional lands of the Tchaman/Kyaman/Gyaman lie along the Ébrié Lagoon, which extends from Grand-Bassam (in the east) to Assagni (in the west) and includes the city of Abidjan and its environs. The Tchaman (also Kyaman, Gyaman) make up approximately 0.7% of the population of Côte d'Ivoire.
caption: Tchaman Serpent Pendant[1]
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