TITLE: Basque Mamuxarroak Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Spain
SUBREGION: Euskadi
ETHNICITY: Basque
DESCRIPTION: Mamuxarroak Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A (Unanu)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Holy Week; patron saint holidays
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: N/A
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

In the Basque regions of Spain and France, different towns have traditions of masquerade during Carnival, Holy Week, or patron saint holidays. In Unanu (Ergoiena), for example, masked characters known as mamoxarros and muttuas parade in white, with black or red belts, and a kattola (mask) made of metal. The mamuxarros carry sticks, to beat anyone who appears on the streets on Shrove Tuesday. The muttuas are dressed as women and run around informing the mamuxarros about anyone who requires a beating. The townsfolk tease the mamoxarros with a rhyme: “”Mamuxarro xirri, xarro, zer emango dizut, zazpina uzker afarirako, zata begi gorri, urtian behin etorri,” which roughly translates to: “Mamuxarro, xirri, xarro, what can I give you? Seven o’clock for dinner, you red-eyed man, come once a year.” This rhyme references the village dinner that follows the end of Carnival.

In other celebrations, such as Otsagabia, a masked character named Bobo dances on September 8 each year, in honor of the Virgin of Muskda, surrounded by unmasked dancers.

The Museum’s collection currently includes no representative example of any Basque mask.