Topeng Raja Putri

TITLE: Topeng Raja Putri
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Raja Putri (Queen) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID001
MAKER: Ida Bagus Anom Suryawan (Mas Ubud, 1953- )
CEREMONY: Topeng Dance Drama
AGE: 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: gold-plated silver; colored glass; oil-based paint

The Topeng dance drama is an important traditional entertainment and education on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Its origin can be traced to the oral history of the Balinese people and venerable palm-leaf written histories, influenced by Hinduism imported from India. The dance may have originated as early as 840 CE. The stories depicted in this drama, called Babad Dalem, tell a political history of the islands of Bali and Java as written by the court poets of the regional kings.

This specific mask represents a character known as Raja Putri, the ideal queen or wife of a high ranking court official.  It was formerly played solely by men as a difficult solo dance, but it is rarely performed any more.

For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).

: /by
,

First Yangban Mask

TITLE: First Yangban Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Hwanghae Province
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Bongsan Talchum First Yangban (Educated Nobleman) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASKR005
MAKER: Gim Gisu (Kim Ki-Soo)
CEREMONY: Talchum Drama
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment
AGE: 1977
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton hood; animal fur; paint

Talchum has been called Korea’s first “professional” masked dance drama, although it originated as part of seasonal festivities in the Bongsan region, it later relocated to Sariwon, on a major trade route, and during the Japanese Colonial Era was performed in a theater for paying patrons. The drama is accompanied by music played on a small samheyon yukgak ensemble, consisting of three aerophones, one chordophone, and two membranophones.

This mask represents a superficial nobleman (yangban) with a cleft lip. In the play, this character is shown to be undignified and unworthy of his title.

For more on Korean masquerade, see Jeon Kyung-wook, Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles (Gyeonggi-do, Rep. of Korea: Youlhwadang Pub. 2005).

: /by

Rora Reema Moqua

TITLE: Rora Reema Moqua
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: China
SUBREGION: Tibet
ETHNICITY: Tibetan
DESCRIPTION: Moqua Mask
CATALOG ID: ASCN010
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Rora Reema
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed fabric
OTHER MATERIALS: cardboard; silk tassels; yak fur; cowrie shells

Rora reema is the ritual Buddhist dance drama performed during Tibetan operas (Ache Lhamo). The opera has many masked characters, with the color of the mask’s face helping to indicate the actor’s role.  The black mask, called moqua, represent a hunter.  Yellow and white masks, in contrast, represents Dran Gsong, a saintly old hermit, or Tashi Chopa, a prosperous old man. A blue mask represents ngompa, the fisherman.  A red mask indicates a courtly aristocrat.  The Rora reema players tell stories in a chanting voice and dance acrobatically to drums and tambourines while wearing cloth masks.  At the end of the dance the crowd tosses handfuls of seeds into the air to propitiate the gods and pray for the peace and prosperity.

For more on Tibetan dance dramas, see Ellen Pearlman, Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2002).

Click here to watch a video about Ache Lhamo, courtesy of the Tibetan Department of Culture.

: /by

Javanese Panji

TITLE: Javanese Panji
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Java
ETHNICITY: Javanese
DESCRIPTION: Panji Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID033
MAKER: Ganuh Nugroho AdiNarimo (Surakarta, Java, 1966- )
CEREMONY: Topeng Dance Drama
AGE: 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Topeng dance drama of the island of Java centers around the political history of the region and are called Babad Dalem (Chronicles of the Kings) or Raket. The most popular story centers around the national hero Panji, whose consort Dewi Chandrakirana is abducted by the powerful King Klana Sewandana of Bantarangin.

This specific mask represents Panji and is used most commonly in the Cirebon Topeng in West Java.  It was carved and painted by the master craftsman Ganuh AdiNarimo of Solo (also known as Surakarta), Java. The mask would be worn by the masquerader biting down on the leather strap to hold the mask in place. This leaves the character mute throughout the performance.

: /by

Topeng Bondres

TITLE: Topeng Bondres
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Bondres Ngecir Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID019
MAKER: Ida Made Sutiarka (Singapadu, 1974- ); Ida Wayan Tangguh (Singapadu, 1935-2016)
CEREMONY: Topeng Dance Drama; Barong Performance
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; goat hair; rawhide; string

The Topeng dance drama is an important traditional entertainment and education on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Its origin can be traced to the oral history of the Balinese people and venerable palm-leaf written histories, influenced by Hinduism imported from India. The dance may have originated as early as 840 CE. The stories depicted in this drama, called Babad Dalem, tell a political history of the islands of Bali and Java as written by the court poets of the regional kings.

This specific mask represents a class of clownish characters known as bondres. The bondres character typically wears a half mask or an articulated full mask strapped to the head to allow for speaking or singing.  Unlike most Balinese masks, which portray stock characters, many bondres characters are unique representations of village types portrayed by the actor who owns the mask.  It was carved and painted by the late master craftsman Wayan Tangguh and his son, Made Sutiarka.

For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).

: /by

Noh Ko-Jō

TITLE: Noh Ko-Jō
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Ko-Jō Kyo-Kei (Old Man) Mask
MAKER: Takiyama Ichiemon (Iso Tanba City, Hyogo, Japan, 1940- ) and Ohoshima Jyunji (Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto, Japan, 1930- )
CATALOG ID: ASJP016
CEREMONY: Noh Drama
AGE: 2011
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; horse hair; acrylic string

The Noh theater evolved from a combination of Chinese Nuo opera, popular village entertainment known as Sarugaku, and courtly Bugaku dance to become a uniquely Japanese form of high culture. Noh, or Nōgaku, probably first emerged as a distinct form of theater in the 14th century.  A wide variety of plays developed over the ensuing three hundred or so years, with masked characters playing an important role in most.  The masks require the actors to communicate through posture, body movement, and vocal control, whose perfection requires years of intense training.  Although the masks prevent the actor from using facial expression, the most expertly carved masks can be made to express different emotions at different angles, so that he actor can change facial expression by the tilting his head.

This mask is known as Ko-Jō (or Ko-Jyo) and is a kind of Jō-Kei (old man mask) created by the famed carver Koushi Kiyomitsu in the late 14th century. This specimen was acquired from Inoue Corporation of Kyoto.

For more on Noh masks, see the excellent book by Michishige Udaka and Shuichi Yamagata, The Secrets of Noh Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International , 2010).


To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.

: /by
, , ,

Yao Shaman Mask

TITLE: Yao Shaman Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Vietnam
SUBREGION: Northern Vietnam
ETHNICITY: Yao
DESCRIPTION: Shaman Mask
CATALOG ID: ASVN001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Shamanic rituals
FUNCTION: healing; hunting; protection; spirit invocation
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed rice paper

The Yao people inhabit southern China and northern Vietnam, with small enclaves in Thailand, Burma, and Laos. They have syncretic Daoist and animist religious beliefs. Yao shamans use wooden masks to invoke god spirits for protection or successful hunting expeditions. Shamans may also use the masks to heal the sick.

Yao masks often include a “horn” on top of the head that some speculate mimics the topknot (ushnisha) worn by the Buddha. Some Yao masks are painted, but because many Yao lack access to paint, they often cover their masks with dyed paper, as they have done here.

: /by
,

Yangju Byeolsandae Gaksi Mask

TITLE: Yangju Byeolsandae Gaksi Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Yangju, Gyeonggi Province
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Gaksi (Concubine) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASKR007
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Byeolsandae Drama
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment
AGE: 1983
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton hood; paint

Sandae noli is the type of masked drama in Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul region of Korea.  It was historically part of seasonal village festivities.  The drama is accompanied by music played on a small samhyeon yukgak ensemble, consisting of three aerophones, one chordophone, and two membranophones. The full performance involves dozens of characters in different masks.

This mask represents the gaksi character, a concubine.

For more on Korean masquerade, see Jeon Kyung-wook, Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles (Gyeonggi-do, Rep. of Korea: Youlhwadang Pub. 2005).

: /by

Wayang Wong Rama

TITLE: Wayang Wong Rama
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Rama Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID024
MAKER: Ida Wayan Tangguh (Singapadu, 1935-2016)
CEREMONY: Wayang Wong
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: gold-plated silver; glass; mirrors; buffalo leather; paint; gold leaf

The Wayang Wong dance drama retells parts of the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These epics revolve around the god Rama and his battle with the demon king Ravana, who has abducted Rama’s wife, Sita. In the end, Rama retrieves her with the help of the wily monkey god, Hanuman.  This mask represents Rama and was carved in 2012 by the late master craftsman, I. Wayan Tangguh.

For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).


Video of a Wayang Wong performance in Bali, Indonesia.

: /by
,

Kali Mask

TITLE: Kali Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: India
SUBREGION: Unknown, probably Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal
ETHNICITY: Bengali
DESCRIPTION: Kali (Durga) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASIN004
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Vijayadashmi Festival; Dussehra Festival
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

During Vijayadashmi and Dussehra festivals, the Ramlila story is frequently reenacted by masked actors. The Ramlila is a story of the god avatar Rama, similar to the story told in the Ramayana.

This mask represents Kali, a god who leapt from Durga’s brow in order to kill certain demons, but became so battle raged that she began killing everything in her path until Shiva stopped her by throwing himself under her feet. Kali is considered another side of Durga, but destructive and evil, and so she appears black and ferocious, with fangs.

: /by