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Austrian Perchtenmaske

TITLE: Austrian Perchtenmaske
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Austria
ETHNICITY: Tyrolean
DESCRIPTION: Alte Frau (Old Woman) Perchtenmaske (Krampus Mask)
CATALOG ID: EUAT011
MAKER: Josef “Sepp” Seidl, Sankt Veit im Pongau (1975- )
CEREMONY: Perchtenlauf
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; cloth headscarf; horse hair; leather; foam padding; mesh

Perchtenlauf is a Tyrolean winter festival equivalent to the old Norse Yule.  In many parts of Austria, southern Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy, in mid-December the town organizes a parade of Perchten, or demons who represent evil spirits (known in Germany as Krampus).  The Perchten wear frightening horned masks with sharp teeth and long, lolling tongues, typically in a suit of goat skin with loud cowbells attached to their belt.  Their function is to accompanying St. Nicholas, who reward good children with treats and presents, while the Perchten punish bad children by beating them with birch switches or throwing them into wicker baskets on their backs to carry down to Hell for punishment.

Although this mask is technically a Perchte mask, the character resembles a Hexe (witch) and is the companion to the old man Krampus made by the same artist, Sepp Seidl.

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Jero Gede Macaling

TITLE: Barong Macan
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Jero Gede Macaling Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID021
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Barong Landung Dance
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: horse hair; gold-plated silver ornaments; paint

The Jero Gede Macaling represent a human-like Barong supposed to be the male ancestor of the Balinese people, of Malayo-Indian origin. His appearance reflects demonic influence, but he is in fact harmless, because of the restraint exercised on him by his wife, Jero Luh, who represents a Chinese ancestor of the Balinese. Together, the Jero Gede and Jero Luh are paraded around the village to exorcise evil spirits, in a ritual known as the Barong Landung.

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

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Kuikuro Kalapolo Mask

TITLE: Kuikuro Kalapolo Mask
TYPE: plank mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Brazil
SUBREGION: Mato Grosso
ETHNICITY: Kuikuro
DESCRIPTION: Kalapolo (Otter Spirit) mask
CATALOG ID: LABR001
MAKER: Unknown maker in Alto Xingú
CEREMONY: Aga Ceremony
FUNCTION: Healing; Spirit Invocation
AGE: early 2000s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: palm fiber; pigment

The Kuikuro people of the Amazon rain forest populate the Xingú River region of the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. During the Aga mask ceremony, masked Kuikuro shamans invoke forest and water spirits such as the river otter to cure the ill. In the Kuikuro belief system, water and forest spirits (itseke) cause disease and death, and only shamans can intervene to propitiate them. Such masks are worn without eye holes.

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Dan Kran Kaogle

TITLE: Dan Kran Kaogle
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire
ETHNICITY: Kran (Dan)
DESCRIPTION: Gla Society Kaogle (Chimpanzee) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI010
MAKER: Unknown
FUNCTION: Entertainment; Secret Society; Social Control; War Preparation
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin; iron wire; leather straps

The Kran ethnic subgroup of the Dan people, and are also known as the We or Guere, living primarily in the Côte d’Ivoire.  The Gla secret society of the Kran people are charged with maintaining social control, including judicial functions, as well as officiating at harvest ceremonies and funerals.  The kaogle mask represents a chimpanzee spirit and invokes its strength and cunning, formerly to prepare for war and exercise social control. Today, its role is largely educational and for entertainment.

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Tigre Crest

TITLE: Tigre Crest
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Jaguar) Crest Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX025
MAKER: Jorge Garcías (Olinalá)
CEREMONY: Batalla de los Tigres (Tecuanis)
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: boar hair; paint

In Guerrero, Mexico, the Batalla de los Tigres (Tiger Battles) are today part of the Catholic feast day of the Holy Cross, but its origins probably reach back into the pre-conquest era worship of a jaguar god (notwithstanding the name and appearance of the mask, there are no tigers in any part of the Americas). Indeed, in many parts of Guerrero, the dancers are referred to as tecuani, the Nahuatl word for jaguar (literally, “man-eater”).  The modern dance is used to summon rain for the spring planting season.  The jaguars engage in a fierce battle, striking each other with knotted ropes. They are sometimes referred to as “machos.”

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Patrón Mask

TITLE: Patrón Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Nahualá
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Patrón (Patzcar) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT037
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Baile del Patzcar
AGE: ca. 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Baile del Patzcar (Plantation Boss’s Dance) is the oldest Guatemalan dance still practiced today and evolved from a Mayan purification ritual.  In it, a dancer representing a female known as Lola performs a Mayan ritual using a white handkerchief to heal other masqueraders wearing rags and disease masks with gigantic thyroid goiters. Then gracejos representing ranch hands and carrying whips dance, comically whipping each other in mock fight over the love of the boss’s wife (Patzcarina). This mask represents the Patzcar, also called the Patrón.

For more on Guatemalan masks, see Jim Pieper, Guatemala’s Masks and Drama(University of New Mexico Press, 2006).

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Duma Mask

TITLE: Duma Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Gabon
ETHNICITY: Duma
DESCRIPTION: Anthropomorphic face mask
CATALOG ID: AFGA004
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Funeral
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay; natural pigment

The Duma (also called Adouma or Aduma) people of Gabon is a small ethnic group known for being expert boatwrights and merchants. They inhabit the south bank of the upper Ogooué River. They continue to practice their traditional animistic religion, using masks major social events, such as adult initiation rituals and funerals. Duma masks tend to have a flat or slightly rounded shape, with geometrical patterns and two or three colors.

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Diablo Mask

TITLE: Diablo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Ecuador
SUBREGION: Otavalo
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Blue Diablo (Devil) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAEC002
MAKER: Unknown maker in Otavalo
CEREMONY: Fiesta de la Mama Negra
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Fiesta de la Mama Negra (Festival of the Black Mama) is a celebration held in September and again in early November in Latacunga, Ecuador. The event originates in pre-colonial indigenous practices and was adapted to honor the Virgin of Mercy (Virgen de la Merced) after Catholic conversion, in thanks for her supposed  intervention to protect the population from eruptions from the nearby Cotopaxi volcano.  The festival has become one of the most important in Latacunga, and includes a parade (comparsa) featuring the Mama Negra prominently as an African version of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Other important masks include animals, the Rey Moro (King Moor, showing the influence of the Conquistadors), angels, clowns (payasos abanderados), shamans (huacos), and miscellaneous other characters. The Devil, portrayed here, also usually makes an appearance.

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Kusillo Mask and Costume

TITLE: Kusillo Mask and Costume
TYPE: hood mask; costume
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Peru
SUBREGION: Puno
ETHNICITY: Aymara; Quechua
DESCRIPTION: Kusillo mask and costume
CATALOG ID: LAPE009
MAKER: Unknown maker in Puno
CEREMONY: Agriculture/Hunting; Carnival
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed wool felt
OTHER MATERIALS: yarn; cardboard; sequins; cotton batting

The kusillo is an Andean clown character that combines attributes of an insect, shepherd, and devil, although he is considered a benevolent trickster. It is one of the oldest masked characters in the region, predating the Spanish conquest. It is used in both Bolivia and Peru as a comic dancer, as well as a promoter of fertility during agricultural and hunting rites. Until the 1960s, the kusillos formed their own dance group, however, with their own music and group choreography. In modern times, he makes his appearance alone or in pairs during Carnival, along with the waka tokhoris or other groups, and sometimes at other festivities as well.

The upturned nose and appendages on the head are thought to be phallic symbols, expressing the kusillo‘s nature as a promoter of fertility. In addition, the kusillo tries to seduce girls in the crowd, reflecting both his fertility and trickster roles.  To facilitate this behavior, socially unacceptable otherwise, he wears white gloves and long pants to prevent recognition.

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Iban Shaman Mask

TITLE: Iban Shaman Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Malaysia
SUBREGION: Borneo (Sarawak)
ETHNICITY: Dayak (Iban)
DESCRIPTION: Shaman Mask
CATALOG ID: OCMY001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Unknown
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Purification
AGE: 1930s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: natural pigment

Not much is known about the masked ceremonies of the Iban people of Sarawak, Borneo Island. This mask dates to the 1930s, possibly earlier, and represents a demon.  It has affinities to the masks of other Dayak peoples elsewhere on Borneo. Such masks were most probably used to drive away evil spirits from the village during important ceremonies, such as funerals, and from crop fields.

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