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Monpa Goddess Mask

TITLE: Monpa Goddess Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Bhutan
SUBREGION: Eastern Bhutan
ETHNICITY: Monpa
DESCRIPTION: Hindu Goddess Mask
CATALOG ID: ASBT002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Cham Dance
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: pigment

The Monpa people are a small ethnic group, estimated at around 78,000 persons, who inhabit Tibet, the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and Bhutan.  They are a nomadic people who rely heavily on grazing herds for subsistence.  The Monpa are primarily Buddhist, and their masks are typically worn at monastery celebrations known as Cham Dances to bless the sowing of the grain, pray for a bountiful harvest, and entertain the public.  This mask, representing a Hindu goddess, demonstrates the syncretism of Buddhism and Hinduism in the region.

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Citipati Mask

TITLE: Citipati Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Nepal
ETHNICITY: Monpa
DESCRIPTION: Citipati
CATALOG ID: ASNP002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Cham Dance
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Cham dance is a classical masked ritual performed by Himalayan Buddhist monks to celebrate the drupchens, or long ceremonies.  Each mask and costume signifies a god, demon, human or animal spirit, or clown that entertains as it instructs in religious history, mythology, and morality.

This mask represents Citipati, the Lords of the Funeral Pyre, who trace their origin not to Buddhism but the earlier Himalayan Bon religion, probably in the 8th century CE. Citipati supposedly originated as two ascetics who were so deep in meditation that they did not sense the thief who encountered and killed them. Citipati accordingly frequently appears in twin male and female guises. They protect the cemeteries.

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