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Cajun Mardi Gras Clown Mask

TITLE: Cajun Mardi Gras Clown Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
SUB-REGION: Acadiana, Louisiana
ETHNICITY: Cajun
DESCRIPTION: Mesh Mardi Gras clown mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS048
MAKER: Chris Raymond (Metairie, Louisiana, 1964- )
CEREMONY: Courir de Mardi Gras
AGE: 2014
MAIN MATERIAL: steel wire mesh
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed cotton cloth; polyester border and fringe; glue; paint; elastic band

In Catholic practice, Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) is the last day of celebration of Carnival before the fasting period of Lent. In the Acadiana country of southern Louisiana, the descendants of French Canadian immigrants known as “Cajuns” (short for “Acadians”) celebrate Mardi Gras in a manner quite different from the better known Carnival of New Orleans.  The Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras parade) occurs in most towns of Cajun country only on Mardi Gras itself.

Masqueraders wear full or partial wire mesh masks and quilted suits with tall, conical hats covered in colorful fabric.  They either ride from farm to farm on horseback or drive as a group in trucks with an unmasked leader wearing the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, purple, and gold.  When they reach a farm, the captain, who carries a whip in one hand and a white flag in the other, approaches the farmer and asks: “Le Mardi Gras demande votre permission pour visiter ta maison” (“The Mardi Gras requests permission to visit your house”), or words to that effect. Upon assent, the revelers descend and run or crawl toward the house, singing a begging song, then exploding into pranks and comedic antics while the captain tries to subdue them with his whip. The only way to make them leave is to donate gifts or money, traditionally a chicken for the evening gumbo, in which the farmer is invited to partake.

For more on the Acadian Carnival celebration, see the excellent book by Carl Lindahl and Carolyn Ware, Cajun Mardi Gras Masks (University Press of Mississippi, 1997).


A short video featuring Cajun Mardi Gras in Eunice, Louisiana, 2019.

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Kwakwaka’wakw Bear Mask

TITLE: Kwakwaka’wakw Bear Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: Canada
SUBREGION: British Columbia
ETHNICITY: Kwakwaka’wakw
DESCRIPTION: Na̱n (Bear) Mask
CATALOG ID: NACA002
MAKER: Stanley Clifford Hunt (Fort Rupert, Victoria, 1954- )
CEREMONY: Potlatch
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: red cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

A potlatch is a culturally important ceremony among the coastal indigenous Americans of British Columbia, held on many different occasions.  It could be held to celebrate a family member’s change in social status, such as a marriage, birth, death, or initiation into adulthood.  It could also be held to restore a person’s prestige after a loss in dignity, such as falling out of a canoe or making a hunting error.  The ceremony could last for one day or as long as three weeks, depending on the occasion and the wealth of the giver.

A potlatch typically included three important components: a feast, entertainment, and gift giving to the guests.  The entertainment consisted of singing and masked dancing.  The more lavish the gifts, feast, and entertainment, the greater the prestige gained by the giver.  Because masks and costumes were expensive and time-consuming to make, larger and more elaborate masks raised the prestige of the potlatch giver.  The masks themselves represented totemic animals such as the killer whale, raven, beaver, or shark, or else mythical figures and beasts, such as the Komokwa, Dzunukwa or Bukwus. This mask represents the na̱n (bear), a spiritually powerful totemic animal that is considered an ancestor of the Kwakwaka’wakw people.

For more on masks of the coastal peoples of western Canada, see Peter MacNair, Robert Joseph & Bruce Grenville, Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 1998) and Edward Malin, A World of Faces: Masks of the Northwest Coast Indians (Portland: Timber Press, 1978).

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Chuto Mask

TITLE: Chuto Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Peru
SUBREGION: Jauja
ETHNICITY: Quechua
DESCRIPTION: Chuto mask
CATALOG ID: LAPE021
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Tunantada; Chonginada
AGE: 1979
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: wool; glass eyes; pigment

The Tunantada is a dance performed in the Jauja region of Peru during the January Festival of San Sebatián and San Fabián, patron saints of the town. Dancers in wire mesh masks represent the Spaniards, who oppress the chutos, or Amerindians.  The dance-drama satirizes all the groups of the colonial period.  It is a group dance, in which each character of the set performs different steps to the rhythm of a single melody.

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Marimonda Mask

Marimonda

TITLE: Marimonda Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Colombia
SUBREGION: Barranquila
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Marimonda (mythical forest creature) mask
CATALOG ID (Marimonda): LACO005
CATALOG ID (El Congo): LACO001
CATALOG ID (Tigre): LACO002
CATALOG ID: (Torito): LACO003
CATALOG ID (Negra Puloy): LAOC004
CATALOG ID(s): LACO001; LACO002; LACO003; LACO004; LACO005
MAKER: Adelaide Agámez (Barranquila)
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: polyester fabric
OTHER MATERIALS: sequins; stitching

In some parts of Colombia, Carnival is celebrated with a masquerade that both invokes the protection of forest spirits and ridicules high society. The Marimonda is a character that originated in the town of Barranquila to represent a cross between an elephant and monkey. The costume was created by the poor, who had little to spend on elaborate costumes.  The masquerader formerly wore his cheap clothing inside out with a tie, whistling loudly to insult the ruling class and lazy public officials. Today, gaudier costumes are more common, and the Marimonda mask and costume are commonly made with shiny and colorful fabrics and adorned with sequins. Technically, the word marimonda refers to a class of white-bellied spider monkeys in South America, but the Marimonda Carnival character is only loosely based on the animal.

Other popular Colombian Carnival characters (also shown here) are the jaguar, the little bull, and dog (not shown).  The negra puloy or palenquera represents a joyous black woman, descendant of the freed slaves brought to Colombia, who dances the fandango. Frequently, the negra puloy is not a masked character, but an Afro-Colombian girl wearing red, white and black costume with a short skirt and large necklace and earrings. The Congo is one of the oldest Colombian carnival characters and represents an indigenous war dancer. The dancers accordingly carry a wooden machete and dance in an organized group. The glasses are of course an anomaly, but non-masked Congo dancers frequently wear sunglasses.

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Catrín Mask

TITLE: Catrín Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Tlaxcala
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Catrín (dandy) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX141
MAKER: Pedro Amador Reyes Juárez (Tlatempán, 1939-1999)
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; glass eyes; cattle hair eyelashes; gold foil; metal hardware; cotton string; leather straps

Carnival in Tlaxcala, Mexico has traditions quite different from those in other parts of the country.  In the city of Tlaxcala, men dress in formal suits, gloves, and top hats, with extremely realistic and handsome Spanish-type masks, and in some towns carry umbrellas through the streets as parasols.  The catrín, or dandy, is a figure of ridicule dating back to colonization, when elaborately dressed Spaniards flaunted their wealth to the oppressed indigenous peoples. The catrín is the indigenous revenge, possible because the masks and costumes made it difficult to identify the culprits.  Frequently the masks have gold teeth and beauty marks, like this one, and include an ingenious spring mechanism attached to a string, which allows the masquerader to blink the dandy’s eyes by pulling on the string.  The masks of Tlaxcala are some of the only known mechnical masks in Latin America. Glass eyes were imported into Tlaxcala for mask-making around 1960.

In the past, the catrínes paired up with dancers known as nanas, who were male dancers dressed as elegant Spanish ladies and wearing a delicately-carved female mask.

Masks of this type are frequently delicately carved and hand-painted by master craftsmen in multiple layers.



A brief documentary about Carnival in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

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Maria Mask

TITLE: Maria Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Chichicastenango
ETHNICITY: Mayan (K’iché)
DESCRIPTION: María Típica (common María) mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT030
MAKER: Miguel Ángel Ignacio Ventura (Chichicastenango, 1960- )
CEREMONY: Baile Típico (Baile Regional)
AGE: late 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Baile Típico (Typical Dance), also known as the Baile Regional, of Chichicastenango is performed on major holidays by a large group of masked men, half of whom are dressed as women. Following leaders whose masks hold whistles to signal the group, they travel around the town, blocking the street wherever they go and dancing in weaving lines according to rehearsed choreography.   This mask is the female character, Maria (in effect, Jane Doe), that represents all the “female” dancers.  It was carved by the owner of a popular morería (mask and costume rental workshop), Miguel Ángel Ignacio Ventura, in the late 1970s.

For more on Guatemalan masks, see Jim Pieper, Guatemala’s Masks and Drama (University of New Mexico Press, 2006).

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Pastorela Asmodeo

TITLE: Pastorela Asmodeo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacán
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Asmodeo (Asmodeus) devil mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX055
MAKER: Victoriano Salgado Morales (Uruapan, 1920-2012)
CEREMONY: Pastorela
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: blanco de españa; maque; bull horns; sheep’s teeth

The Pastorela is the ceremonial dance drama performed in many parts of Mexico, including the state of Michoacán. Pastorelas, performed primarily at Christmas, or sometimes in February during the Shrovetide season, are primarily religious in significance. The main characters of the Dance of the Shepherds are the Devil and his minions, the Archangel Michael, shepherds, and a hermit (who paradoxically represents the ancestors of the performers).  The drama revolves around the attempts of Lucifer and his demon minions to steal the baby Jesus.  Other dramas performed on the occasion include the Dance of the Negritos (dance of the little blacks), relating to the importation of African slaves into Mexico by the Spaniards, and which includes an army of elegantly dressed “little Maries” (Maringuillas), and feos, or ugly clowns.

This mask represents one of three chief devils, specifically Asmodeo (Asmodeus). In Christian and Jewish mythologies, Asmodeus is one of the seven princes of Hell, and represents the vice lust.  It was carved by the master mask-maker of Uruapan, Victoriano Salgado.

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Sardinian Issohadore

TITLE: Sardinian Issohadore
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Italy
SUBREGION: Mamoiada, Sardinia
ETHNICITY: Italian (Sardinian)
DESCRIPTION: Issohadore mask
CATALOG ID: EUIT007
MAKER: Ruggero Mameli (Mamoiada, 1954- )
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 2010
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; leather straps; metal hardware

The people of Sardinia celebrate Carnival with a unique tradition whose origin is the subject of much debate. Most participants in the Carnival parade in the region of Mamoiada wear costumes and masks of one of two characters: the Issohadore and Mamuthone. The Issohadores dress in a bright military costume and wear a white mask. Soha in Sardinian means “lasso,” which is what the Issohadores carry to encircle and abduct young women in the crowd while they guard the troop of black-masked Mamuthones. Some hypothesize that the Issohadore represents the Spanish conqueror of Sardinia in 1717, and the Mamuthones represent the oppressed Sardinian peasantry. Although the Carnival tradition seems to be much older, it may have been shaped by these historical events.

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Mah Meri Moyang Kuhau

TITLE: Mah Meri Moyang Kuhau
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Malaysia
ETHNICITY: Orang Asli (Senoi)
DESCRIPTION: Moyang Kuhau (natural spring spirit) mask
CATALOG ID: ASMY002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Celebration; Spirit Invocation
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: blackboard wood
OTHER MATERIALS: metal; cotton string

The Mah Meri tribe belongs to the Senoi people, one of the indigenous peoples (Orang Asli) of Malaysia. They have traditionally carved masks from the wood of the blackboard tree (Alstonia scholaris) for use in celebrating festive occasions, such as weddings. The masks embody benevolent spirits that, in the animistic pantheon of the Mah Meri, are used to drive away evil, soul-stealing spirits.  This mask, Moyang Kuhau, represents the spirit of a natural spring or well, an important source of fresh water to the Mah Meri.

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Mazate Mask

TITLE: Mazate Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Baja Verapaz
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Achí)
DESCRIPTION: Mazate (old man) mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT014
MAKER: Unknown maker in Salamá
CEREMONY: Danza de los Mazates
AGE: 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Danza de los Mazates in Baja Verapaz has many incarnations, but most go under the Spanish name Baile (or Danza) de los Viejitos (Dance of the Little Old Men). This is one of the oldest dances in this region of Guatemala and is performed to honor the patron saint of the village. The mazate itself is a deer, and the dance relates to a hunt for deer in the mountains (white-tailed deer). The hunters are represented as men in deteriorated rags and squirrel pelts, wearing grotesque, dark-colored masks, and carrying staves, rattles and wide-brimmed hats. Among the mazate dancers are two distinguished ones: the Mazate Anciano (elder mazate) and the Mazate Joven (young mazate).  In most regions, the mazate masks resembling old men with some degree of realism, but in the distant past, masks could be more abstract and wilder in appearance. Even today, the village of Salamá, where this mask originated, tend to have a more exaggerated look. There is also a single female character, whose role is to attract the deer for the hunters.

The dance takes place to the beat of a large, wood drum (tun) and a small snare drum (tabor). It likely originates in pre-Catholic rituals to bring rain or a good hunt.

For more on Guatemalan masks, see Jim Pieper, Guatemala’s Masks and Drama (University of New Mexico Press, 2006).

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