TITLE: Dog Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: El Salvador
SUBREGION: San Salvador
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Perro (Dog) Mask
CATALOG ID: LASV005
MAKER: Celio López (San Antonio Abad, 1962- )
CEREMONY: Danza del Venadito (Dance of the Little Deer)
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: pito wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; rubber; shoestrings
The Danza del Venadito (Dance of the Little Deer) is an ancient dance drama performed in the San Antonio Abad region of San Salvador during the Fiesta del Virgen del Trànsito (Feast of the Assumption) from August 6 to 15, with variations performed elsewhere in El Salvador at other times. The dance is accompanied by the music of pito flute, drum and slit drum (tepunahuaste). The dance tells the story of an ancient deer hunt, in which a jaguar (tigre) intervenes to chase the deer as well. The hunters and townsfolk assemble with their dogs (one represented by this mask) to reorganize the hunt and succeed in killing the jaguar. They then recite comical rhymes relating to the portioning out of the jaguar, such as: “La cabeza para la niña Teresa, las costillas para la cofradía, la cola para la niña Pola, el pellejo para los viejos,” and so forth. (“The head for the child Teresa, the ribs for the fraternal order, the tail for the child Pola, the pelt for the elders,” etc.).
