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Mico (Monkey) Mask

TITLE: Mico (Monkey) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Solalá
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Kaqchikel)
DESCRIPTION: Mico (Monkey) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT042
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Baile del Venado; Fiesta de Santo Tomás
AGE: 1940s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Baile del Venado, also called the Danza del Venado, is an annual ceremony in several cities of central and southern Guatemala, usually during a holiday in honor of the town’s patron saint. Frequently it takes place over a week or more.  The dance dates back to the pre-colonization and undoubtedly originates in Mayan rituals of respect for nature and prayer for a good hunt.  In its modern incarnation, the Baile del Venado typically involves several masked characters, including a steward or mayordomo (in Kaqchikel, cachucha), Margarita (his wife), and el Moro (the Moor, who is actually Caucasian in this region and has a quetzal bird on his forehead).  With them are several animals, depending on the village, and they may include a mono (monkey), mico (small monkey), león (lion), tigre (tiger), tigrillo (little tiger), jaguar, perro (dog), a guacamaya roja (Scarlet Macaw), and sometimes others.  In some places, the mono and mico are the same character.  The number of each animal character depends on the size of the village and the number of participants.  While originally this dance simulated a hunt, in modern times the animals dance and the mayordomo and Margarita feed them. The moro enters last, with a quetzal on his head as punishment from the gods for having worn sacred quetzal feathers.  The moro does not hunt the animals, but rather acts as their guardian and caretaker.

The mico is sometimes called mono in Guatemala, but both mean monkey. A mico is sometimes explained as specifically representing a spider monkey, which its coloration (dark head and white mouth and eye rings) suggests. Spider monkeys are endemic to the Solalá region of Guatemala. The mico is also one of several masks worn by the palo voladores (pole flyers) during the Fiesta de Santo Tomás in Chichicastenango. In this ritual, the masqueraders dance to marimba music for a half hour, then two at a time ascend a large pole erected in the town square, then swing on ropes around the pole while gradually descending to the ground. The process takes around six or seven minutes and requires exceptional courage.

This mask was made in the 1940s and danced extensively in Panajachel by Evaristo Rosales. It may come from a moreria (mask and costume maker and renter) in Solalá or Chichicastenango.

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

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Hindu-Buddhist God Mask

TITLE: Hindu-Buddhist God Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Nepal
SUBREGION: Kathmandu Valley (?)
ETHNICITY: Newar (?)
DESCRIPTION: Buddhist God Mask
CATALOG ID: ASNP005
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Unknown, possible Nava Durga
AGE: ca. 1970s-1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: charred wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

Very little is known about this mask. It may come from the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley. It represents a god with two faces, one displaying Buddhist calm and contentment, and the other protective ferocity.

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Moor Mask

TITLE: Moor Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Moro (Moor) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX028
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Moros y Cristianos
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: stitching; paint

The Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), also known as the Danza de la Conquista, is an important celebration in many parts of Mexico. The dance reenacts the reconquest Spain from the Saracens by the European Christians. The dance arose from the teachings of missionaries as part of an effort to instill respect for and fear of the Spaniards in the indigenous peoples, and to convince them that the victory of Christianity over other faiths—by violence whenever necessary—was inevitable.

The dance is still performed widely in Mexico, including in Mexico State, Michoacán, Puebla, Veracruz, and parts of Guerrero. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. This mask represents a Moor and is unusual in being made primarily of molded leather instead of wood.

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Old Woman Witch Mask

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

Krampuslauf (the Krampus Parade) is a winter event that forms part of the Christmas festivities in much of Austria and parts of southern Germany, Switzerland, northern Italy, and the Balkan states. From mid-November until the first week of December, many towns organize a parade of Krampuses, demons who represent evil spirits with frightening horned masks with sharp teeth and long, lolling tongues, typically in a suit of goat skin with loud cowbells attached to their belt.  They carry a whip of birch branches (a Rute) or a cowtail. Their function is to accompanying St. Nicholas, who rewards good children with treats and presents, while the Krampuses punish bad children by beating them with their whips or throwing them into wicker baskets on their backs to carry down to Hell for punishment. Although different regions celebrate Krampuslauf on different days, the traditional Krampus Day is December 5, and the traditional St. Nicholaus Day is December 6. Krampuses may march on both days.

Sometimes accompanying the Krampuses are witches. This mask represents 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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