TITLE: Hill Jatra Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: India
SUBREGION: Uttarakhand
ETHNICITY: Kumaoni
DESCRIPTION: Hill Jatra Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Hill Jatra
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A
In the district of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, the Hill Jatra festival is celebrated around purnima, in August or September after the crops are harvested. Hill Jatra is believed to have been introduced by the Nepalese Gurkhas during their occupation of Uttarakhand in the 18th century. The festival involves masked performances of stories from the Ramayana and other Hindu legends. During the festival, a white-clothed deer is worshipped as a local god. The festivity takes place in three phases. In the first, a goat is ritually sacrificed. In the second, dance-dramas are performed for public. In the third, songs and dances are performed.
The Museum’s collection does not currently include a representative example of a Hill Jatra mask.
