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Cojó Mask

TITLE: Cojó Mask
TYPE: mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Tenosique, Tabasco
ETHNICITY: Chontal
DESCRIPTION: Cojó Mask
MAKER: Unknown maker in Tenosique
CEREMONY: Danza Correr del Pochó
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

During Carnival and the saint’s holiday of Tenosique, local Chontal people perform La Danza Correr del Pochó, or less formally, El Pochó.  El Pochó is a pre-Christian god that the missionaries tried to characterize as evil.  As a result, modern festivals end in the defeat and burning of Pochó. The Danze del Pochó has three main characters: cojóes, the pochoveras, and the tigres.  They dance to the music of native flutes and drums.

Cojóes are men who represent the first Chontal people, created from the pulp of maize. The cojó masks, such as this one, are always made of wood and have a distinct streamlined style with a sloping nose. The reason for the mask is said to be that Pochó immediately considered human beings his enemy, and so the Chontals wore masks so that Pochó could not recognize them. The costume consists of a coarse coat, a cloth mantle, a skirt of leaves, and a straw hat decorated with large leaves, flowers, and chewing gum boxes. They carry a long rattle shaped like a thick stick filled with changala seeds.

The pochoveras are priestesses of the god Pochó and keep a fire burning on his alter. Pochoveras also wear a hat with leaves and flowers.

The tigres, called balandes in the Chontal language, are masked characters who paint their body with white clay and black spots made of coal to simulate the jaguar pelt. They may also wear an animal skin. The role of the tigres is to attack the cojóes with the help of the pochoveras, on behalf of Pochó. However, the cojóes inevitably win, defeating the tigres and extinguishing Pochó’s fire.

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Tigre Crest

TITLE: Tigre Crest
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Jaguar) Crest Mask
MAKER: Jorge Garcías, Olinalá
CEREMONY: Batalla de los Tigres (Tecuanis)
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: boar hair; paint

In Guerrero, Mexico, the Batalla de los Tigres (Tiger Battles) are today part of the Catholic feast day of the Holy Cross, but its origins probably reach back into the pre-conquest era worship of a jaguar god (notwithstanding the name and appearance of the mask, there are no tigers in any part of the Americas). Indeed, in many parts of Guerrero, the dancers are referred to as tecuani, the Nahuatl word for jaguar (literally, “man-eater”).  The modern dance is used to summon rain for the spring planting season.  The jaguars engage in a fierce battle, striking each other with knotted ropes. They are sometimes referred to as “machos.”

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Kusillo

TITLE: Kusillo
TYPE: mask and costume
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Peru
SUBREGION: Puno
ETHNICITY: Aymara; Quechua
DESCRIPTION: Kusillo Mask and Costume
MAKER: Unknown maker in Puno
CEREMONY: Agriculture/Hunting; Carnival
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed wool felt
OTHER MATERIALS: yarn; cardboard; sequins; cotton batting

The kusillo is an Andean clown character that combines attributes of an insect, shepherd, and devil, although he is considered a benevolent trickster. It is one of the oldest masked characters in the region, predating the Spanish conquest. It is used in both Bolivia and Peru as a comic dancer, as well as a promoter of fertility during agricultural and hunting rites. Until the 1960s, the kusillos formed their own dance group, however, with their own music and group choreography. In modern times, he makes his appearance alone or in pairs during Carnival, along with the waka tokhoris or other groups, and sometimes at other festivities as well.

The upturned nose and appendages on the head are thought to be phallic symbols, expressing the kusillo‘s nature as a promoter of fertility. In addition, the kusillo tries to seduce girls in the crowd, reflecting both his fertility and trickster roles.  To facilitate this behavior, socially unacceptable otherwise, he wears white gloves and long pants to prevent recognition.

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Iban Shaman Mask

TITLE: Iban Shaman Mask
TYPE: mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Malaysia
SUBREGION: Borneo (Sarawak)
ETHNICITY: Dayak (Iban)
DESCRIPTION: Shaman Mask
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Unknown
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Purification
AGE: 1930s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: natural pigment

Not much is known about the masked ceremonies of the Iban people of Sarawak, Borneo Island. This mask dates to the 1930s, possibly earlier, and represents a demon.  It has affinities to the masks of other Dayak peoples elsewhere on Borneo. Such masks were most probably used to drive away evil spirits from the village during important ceremonies, such as funerals, and from crop fields.

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Old Man Mask

TITLE: Old Man Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Moldova
ETHNICITY: Romanian-Moldovan
DESCRIPTION: Bătrânească (Old Man) Mask
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Mastile; Carnival
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Hunting; Protection/Purification
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: sheep’s wool; cow horns; paint; hardware

In Romanian and Moldovan folk traditions, many kinds of masks are used at planting time and during the celebrations of Lent prior to Christmas, and during Carnival.  Some are used for caroling, while others originate in pre-Christian rituals of appeasing the gods for a rainy spring, bountiful harvest, or successful hunt.  Only men may wear such masks.  This mask represents an old man (Bătrânească) and is a popular Carnival character.

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Bamana Chi Wara

TITLE: Bamana Chi Wara
TYPE: crown mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Mali
ETHNICITY: Bamana (Bambara)
DESCRIPTION: Chi Wara Segu Crest
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Initiation; Social Control; Status
AGE: Late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: brass plating; animal hair; leather; dyed cotton pompoms; cotton string

The Bamana people, sometimes called Bambara, are one of the largest ethnic groups in Mali. They have six major secret societies of different levels of prestige that conduct adult initiation rituals. Initiates are taught survival skills, social customs, and religious principles. The Chi Wara Society dances using crest masks only and teaches social values and agricultural techniques.

The Chi Wara itself typically takes the form of a roan antelope crossed with a human. The character itself is supposed to represent a culture hero born of the sky goddess (Mousso Koroni) and an earth god in the shape of a cobra. The Chi Wara taught the Bamana to sow and harvest crops.

There are four major kinds of Chi Wara: the Bougouni Southern; the Segu Northern; the Bamako Northern; and the Sikasso. This specific mask represents the third style of Chi Wara, the Bamako from the northern region, and depicts a male.

The Chi Wara is danced in male and female pairs, with each wearing a full suit of raffia fiber and the crest mounted on a basket (as here) that sits atop the dancer’s head. The male dancer leads, leaping like an antelope and scratching the ground with a staff to illustrate the teaching of agriculture. The female follows behind and fans the male to spread his powers to the village.

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Baka Luma Mask

TITLE: Baka Luma Mask
TYPE: mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Cameroon
ETHNICITY: Baka
DESCRIPTION: Luma Mask
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Celebration; Hunting
AGE: early 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: pigment; kaolin clay

The Baka people of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, and Gabon are also known as Bayaka people. They are semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers, formerly known as “pygmies.”  They maintain an animistic religion based on an omnipresent forest spirit named Jengi and a supreme god named Komba.

After a successful hunt, the Baka chant songs of thanksgiving to Jengi to the beat of a drum in a ritual called Luma.  Some masked dancers in raffia fiber suits represent forest animals, such as this one. One will appear fully covered in a woolly suit of red raffia, with nothing else showing, to represent Jengi.  The Baka do not make very extensive use of wooden masks, and so they are rarely seen.

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Batak Karo Gundala

TITLE: Batak Karo Gundala
TYPE: mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Sumatra
ETHNICITY: Karo Batak Toba
DESCRIPTION: Gundala Mask
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY:
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Entertainment
AGE: ca. 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: natural pigment

The Karo people are a subgroup of the Batak Toba and inhabit the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  They have largely resisted proselytization and adhere to traditional animistic beliefs and practices.  Gundala masks such as this one were traditionally used to pray for rain at seed sowing time, or as comical entertainment for the community leaders during major festivals.

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Tlacololero Mask

TITLE: Tlacololero Mask
TYPE: mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tlacololero Mask
MAKER: Martín Catalon Lazardo, Zumpango del Río
CEREMONY: Baile de los Tlacololeros
AGE: 2008
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: automotive paint; glue

The Baile de los Tlacololeros is one of the oldest folk dances of Guerrero, Mexico and predates colonization. It is performed at most major religious events, such as Easter, Day of the Holy Cross (May 3), patron saint days, and Christmas Eve. The dance represents the efforts of corn farmers to stop the depredations of a jaguar on their livestock.  A tlacololero is a farmer of the rugged, mountainous slopes of Guerrero.  The main characters are the farmers and their tracker, the perra maravilla (“wonder bitch,” the dog that helps hunt the jaguar), the farm animals, and a tigre (actually, a jaguar).  Generally, eight to fourteen tlacololeros participate, dancing to the music of flute and drums, while the perra maravilla helps hunt and captures the jaguar.  The farmers then beat the jaguar with chirriones (braided whips) to teach it a lesson, stopping short of killing it. Unfortunately, the whipping sometimes leads to the violent expression of regional rivalries, resulting in serious injuries to the participants.  To protect themselves, the dancers wear leather chaps, blanket breeches, huaraches and thick sacks of ixtle on layers of huastle grass.

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Senufo Kpelie

TITLE: Senufo Kpelie
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
ETHNICITY: Senufo
DESCRIPTION: Kpelie Mask
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Agriculture; Celebration; Funeral
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: ebony wood
OTHER MATERIALS: n/a

The Senufo people and reside primarily in Côte d’Ivoire, with some also living in Burkina Faso and Mali. The kpelie mask is used by men’s societies for the initiation of boys into adulthood, in funerals of important villagers, and in harvest festivals celebrating and giving thanks to the gods for a bountiful harvest.

The kpelie is always worn by men, but it combines the features of an ideal woman and an animal, such as an antelope, ram, or hornbill (as here), along with fertility symbols, such as palm nuts. The scarification marks represent the Senufo ideal of female beauty. The two appendages that always extend downward from the mask represent symbolic legs that tether the spirit to the earth.  The figure on the head, whether it is an animal, ancestor, or symbol, depend on the caste group to which ancestor represented by the mask belonged. The hornbill, for example, is linked to metal smiths.

The masquerader will dance to traditional music and singing while holding an iron staff or a horsetail whisk and wearing a robe composed of knotted diamonds (the shape believed symbolic of the cycle of life) and a long raffia fiber collar and cuffs to disguise the hands.

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