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Santiago Mask

TITLE: Santiago Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Santiago (Saint) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX158
MAKER: Lino Mora Rivera (Naolinco de Victoria, 1956- )
CEREMONY: Fiesta de San Mateo (Danza de los Pilatos)
AGE: 2017
MAIN MATERIAL: equimite wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; lacquer; string

The Danza de los Pilatos, also called La Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), is an important celebration in the Mexican state of Veracruz. 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, and Veracruz. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. In Naolinco, Veracruz, the dance is performed on the holiday of the town patron saint, St. Matthew (Fiesta de San Mateo), celebrated on Sept. 20-21 every year.  There, Moors take many forms, including devils, pirates, clowns, or, as here, skeletons. This mask represents a santiago, also called a santiaguero, who is a warrior-disciple of St. James. The santiagos fight the Moors with wooden swords and small shields.

For more on masks from Veracruz, see Bryan J. Stevens, Mexican Masks and Puppets: Master Carvers of the Sierra de Puebla (Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub’g, 2012).


A brief video with highlights of the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos from Naolinco’s 2018 Fiesta de San Mateo.

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Flores Island Mask

TITLE: Flores Island Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Flores Island
ETHNICITY: Ngada
DESCRIPTION: Harvest ceremony mask
CATALOG ID: OCID004
MAKER: Unknown maker near Bajawa, Ngada
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Spirit Invocation
AGE: ca. 1920s-1930s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: ijuk fiber eyebrows; buffalo bone teeth

Little is known about the traditional animist beliefs of the Ngada (also known as Rokka) people of Flores Island. All that is known about this mask is that it was used in harvest ceremonies in a village near Bajawa, probably to invoke a god or spirit to ensure a fruitful harvest.

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Moor Mask

TITLE: Moor Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: “Cardface” Moor mask in yellow, red and black
CATALOG ID: LAMX154
MAKER: Pedro Sol Sánchez (Tuzamapán de Galeana, 1945- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Moros y Cristianos
AGE: 2016
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; hardware

The Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians) reenacts the reconquest of Spain by the Christians from the Muslim Saracens.  The story was taught by 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, and Veracruz. Important characters include Spaniards, Moors, saints, angels, and devils. This Moro takes a form typical only in the village of Tuzamapan and is commonly known as an “enamorado” (lover) or “card face” Moor, because the makers there often include symbols from playing cards (hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs). More recently, designs like this one have been inspired by the masks used in the popular lucha libre (wrestling).

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Noh Hannya

TITLE: Noh Hannya
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Gunma Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Hannya Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP021
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Noh Theater
AGE: 1950s-60s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; brass; gold dust; lacquer; silk string

The Noh theater evolved from a combination of Chinese Nuo opera, popular village entertainment known as Sarugaku, and courtly Bugaku dance to become a uniquely Japanese form of high culture. Noh, or Nōgaku, probably first emerged as a distinct form of theater in the 14th century.  A wide variety of plays developed over the ensuing three hundred or so years, with masked characters playing an important role in most.  The masks require the actors to communicate through posture, body movement, and vocal control, whose perfection requires years of intense training.  Although the masks prevent the actor from using facial expression, the most expertly carved masks can be made to express different emotions at different angles, so that he actor can change facial expression by the tilting his head.

This specific mask represents Hannya, the soul of a female who has become a demon or ghost through jealousy or obsession. The mask is designed to look angry from straight ahead, but sorrowful when tilted downward. Only exceptionally skilled carvers are able to produce a Hannya with the ability to convey both malice and misery.  Light-skinned Hannya like this one denote aristocratic women; red masks indicate peasant women.  All such roles were traditionally played by men.

For more on Noh masks, see the excellent book by Michishige Udaka and Shuichi Yamagata, The Secrets of Noh Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International , 2010).


To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.

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Iatmul Sevi Mask

TITLE: Iatmul Sevi Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Papua New Guinea
SUBREGION: Middle Sepik River Region
ETHNICITY: Melanesian (Iatmul)
DESCRIPTION: Sevi mask iwth crocodile tongue
CATALOG ID: OCPG004
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Protection; Spirit Invocation
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: wicker; pigment; plant fiber

Sevi masks like this one may be worn in dances, but they are generally kept on display in the men’s Tambaran House to attract protective spirits.  Masks often refer to a clan totem such as crocodile (as here) or eagle. Sevi masks have extended tongues as a sign of aggression towards enemies of the clan.

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Cora Tiznado Mask

TITLE: Cora Tiznado Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Nayarit
ETHNICITY: Cora
DESCRIPTION: Tiznado (Judio) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX074
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Semana Santa (Holy Week)
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: watercolor paint

The Cora people of Nayarit resisted Spanish colonization and proselytization long after most of Mexico succumbed, and their pre-Christian traditions still survive with a thin veneer of Catholicism. Traditionally, the Cora worship three gods, associated with the sun, the moon, and corn.

During the Semana Santa (Holy Week), Cora men paint their bodies with black and white stripes and wear judio (Jew) masks (also called borrados) designed to look like monsters and devils that carry swords and persecute the sun god, who takes the Catholic form of Jesus of Nazareth. The character is called tiznado (“covered with ash”). On Good Friday, the judios capture and kill the sun god, who is resurrected the next day and banishes the judios.

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Chivo Mask

TITLE: Chivo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Chivo (goat) mask with ixtle fiber headdress
CATALOG ID: LAMX015
MAKER: Unknown maker in San Roque, Mochitlán
CEREMONY: Carnaval de Chivos
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; goat horns; oil paint; dyed ixtle fiber

In parts of Guerrero, multicolored goat masks are worn to celebrate the Carnaval (or Danza) de Chivos.  The goats, almost always played by young men, dance in a group to brass instrument and drum music wearing long headdresses of straw. Some chivos play percussion instruments as they dance.  The dance is usually performed in honor of the patron saint of the village.

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Bamana Chi Wara

TITLE: Bamana Chi Wara
TYPE: crown mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Mali
ETHNICITY: Bamana (Bambara)
DESCRIPTION: Chi Wara Bamako Crest
CATALOG ID: AFML001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Initiation; Social Control; Status
AGE: Late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: leather; dyed cotton string; animal hair; wicker basketry

The Bamana people, sometimes called Bambara, are one of the largest ethnic groups in Mali. They have six major secret societies of different levels of prestige that conduct adult initiation rituals. Initiates are taught survival skills, social customs, and religious principles. The Chi Wara Society dances using crest masks only and teaches social values and agricultural techniques.

The Chi Wara itself typically takes the form of a roan antelope crossed with a human. The character itself is supposed to represent a culture hero born of the sky goddess (Mousso Koroni) and an earth god in the shape of a cobra. The Chi Wara taught the Bamana to sow and harvest crops.

There are four major kinds of Chi Wara: the Bougouni Southern; the Segu Northern; the Bamako Northern; and the Sikasso. This specific mask represents the third style of Chi Wara, the Bamako from the northern region, and depicts a male.

The Chi Wara is danced in male and female pairs, with each wearing a full suit of raffia fiber and the crest mounted on a basket (as here) that sits atop the dancer’s head. The male dancer leads, leaping like an antelope and scratching the ground with a staff to illustrate the teaching of agriculture. The female follows behind and fans the male to spread his powers to the village.

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Boruca Bat Mask

TITLE: Boruca Bat Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Costa Rica
SUBREGION: Reserva Rey Curré, Puntarenas
ETHNICITY: Boruca
DESCRIPTION: Warrior Mask in the Form of a Bat
CATALOG ID: LACR003
MAKER: Steven Morales Fernández (Rey Curré, -)
CEREMONY: Cagrúv Rójc (Fiesta de los Diablitos)
AGE: 2011
MAIN MATERIAL: balsa wood
OTHER MATERIALS: red pigment from achiote berry; black pigment from wood ash

The Boruca people mostly inhabit two reservations in the Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica. Technically, many persons classified as Boruca are members of neighboring indigenous peoples, such as the Coto and Quepo people, who have banded with the Boruca to preserve their traditions and relative independence. Their best known holiday is the Fiesta de los Diablitos (Festival of the Little Devils), properly called Cagrúv Rójc in the Boruca langauge, and held from December 30th to January 2nd each year. The ceremony represents a major community event and a retelling of the Spanish conquest of the Boruca people (represented by masked forest spirits known as diablos, but actually representing indigenous warriors).  All masqueraders are men. The diablos begin parading in the morning at the direction of an elder devil, el Diablo Mayor, representing the glory of the Boruca culture before the conquest.  On January 1st, a masquerader in a toro (bull) mask enters the festivities to represent the invading Spanish. The toro chases the diablos about the village. Although the diablos resist, the toro ultimately knocks down all the diablos, representing the Spanish victory.  Afterward, the diablos return to life, sending the toro into hiding while they hunt him with the help of a masquerader posing as a dog. Ultimately they find, capture, and symbolically burn the toro, signifying the end of the festival. The toro mask is not burned, but saved for the subsequent year’s ritual.

This mask, representing the diablo as a bat (murcielago), was used in the 2011-12 festival by the maker.

Click above to watch a short documentary film about the Cagrúv Rójc ceremony of the Boruca people.

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Moor (Calavera-Cobra) Mask

TITLE: Moor (Calavera-Cobra) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Moro (Moor) Mask in the form of a Cobra-Headed Calavera (Skull)
CATALOG ID: LAMX164
MAKER: Lino Mora Rivera (Naolinco de Victoria, 1956- )
CEREMONY: Fiesta de San Mateo (Danza de los Pilatos)
AGE: 2017
MAIN MATERIAL: equimite wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; lacquer; string

The Danza de los Pilatos, also called La Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), is an important celebration in the Mexican state of Veracruz. 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, and Veracruz. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. In Naolinco, Veracruz, the dance is performed on the holiday of the town patron saint, St. Matthew (Fiesta de San Mateo), celebrated on Sept. 20-21 every year.  There, Moors take many forms, including devils, pirates, clowns, or, as here, skeletons. This mask represents a Moor in the form of a skeleton (calavera), with its face emerging from a menacing cobra. It was carved by the master craftsman, Lino Mora Rivera.

For more on masks from Veracruz, see Bryan J. Stevens, Mexican Masks and Puppets: Master Carvers of the Sierra de Puebla (Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub’g, 2012).


A brief video with highlights of the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos from Naolinco’s 2018 Fiesta de San Mateo.

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