, , ,

Igbo Agbogho Mmuo

TITLE: Igbo Agbogho Mmuo
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Igbo
DESCRIPTION: Agbogho Mmuo (Maiden Spirit) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG004
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Funeral; Secret Society; Spirit Invocation
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay; pigment

The Igbo are a numerous people inhabiting southern Nigeria. They have a rich masking tradition based on their traditional religion, Odinani, the circumcision ritual of adulthood, and initiation into secret societies. The Agbogho Mmuo, or Maiden Spirit, is a helmet mask intended to represent the spirit of a beautiful female ancestor and is danced during the dry season as part of agricultural rituals, as well as during funerals of prominent members of the masking secret society.

The mask is worn by men only, who imitate the movements of a graceful female to music played on traditional drums and other instruments. Singers also participate and pay tribute to real and past girls. The whiteness of the mask does not idealize light skin, but instead indicates the spirit nature of the girl represented. The elaborate hair style with comb decorations is intended to enhance the beauty of the mask.

: /by
,

Negrito

TITLE: Negrito Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacán
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Negrito (Little Black Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX058
MAKER: Victoriano Salgado Morales (Uruapán, 1920-2012)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Negritos
AGE: early 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: maque lacquer; plaster; dyed sheep skin and wool; ribbons; metal hardware; plastic beads; brass bells; mirrors

The Danza de los Negritos centers around a religious ceremony honoring the baby Jesus around Christmas time, and is performed solely by men from special cofradiás, or fraternal orders. The “negritos” (sometimes simply negros, or blacks) themselves originally represented the black slaves imported into Michoacán to work the sugar cane and indigo plantations. They were feared by the indigenous Purépecha people, possibly because of their association between blackness and power or godhood, and historically the dance represented the negritos as abusive and lecherous.In this, the dancers resembled the moors from the Dance of the Christians and Moors performed in other parts of Mexico.

In the modern dance, strongly influenced by Christian indoctrinization, the negrito continues to honor the white master (now represented by the baby Jesus, however) and punish the indigenous people (the spectators), but the meaning has changed from rebellion to Catholic conformism. The image of the negrito has morphed into a community leader, worshiping Jesus and punishing sinners.

: /by

Ogoni Face Mask

TITLE: Ogoni Face Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Ogoni
DESCRIPTION: Face Mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG006
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Entertainment
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil paint; human hair; cotton cloth

The Ogoni people have managed to maintain much of their precolonial culture, including their masquerading traditions.

Masks are used by the Ogoni for many purposes. Some are reserved for members of secret societies having varying social ranks. Others are mainly for entertainment, and this may be one such mask.

: /by
,

Kulango Mask

TITLE: Kulango Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire
ETHNICITY: Kulango
DESCRIPTION: Unknown Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI019
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation (?); Agriculture (?)
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The Kulango from the northern part of Côte d’Ivoire were ruled by a king and elders who directed community life, based around the agricultural calendar. The Kulango were prosperous merchants who practiced animism and resisted attempts to Islamicize their culture. However, Kulango religion and art suffered from successive incursions by Mandingo slavers and French colonialists. As a result, not much is known about Kulango masking traditions.

This mask was probably used for adult initiation or to promote fertility in agriculture, young women, or both.

: /by
,

Chhau Rakshasa

TITLE: Chhau Rakshasa
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: India
SUBREGION: West Bengal
ETHNICITY: Bengali
DESCRIPTION: Rakshasa Mask
CATALOG ID: ASIN003
MAKER: Sri Gokul Chandra Rai (Santineketan, West Bengal)
CEREMONY: Purulia Chhau Dance
AGE: 1973
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: gesso; wire; dyed cloth; tinsel; beads; dyed feathers; paint

Chhau dance is a modern version of a classical Indian dance with tribal origins, originating in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. The dance is usually structured around Hindu folk stories exalting the gods Shiva, Devi or Vishnu, and uses both elegant and martial techniques. The Purulia Chhau of West Bengal and the Seraikela dance of Jharkhand most commonly use masks to identify the character portrayed.

This specific mask is of the Purulia type and portrays a rakshasa, an earthbound, bloodthirsty, shape-changing demon. In the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, rakshasas are numerous and fight on the sides of both good and evil.

: /by
, ,

Fang Ngil Mask

TITLE: Fang Ngil Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Equatorial Guinea
ETHNICITY: Fang
DESCRIPTION: Ngil Mask
CATALOG ID: AFGQ001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Purification; Secret Society; Social Control
AGE: late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Fang people inhabit Equatorial Guinea, northern Gabon and Cameroon and are divided between followers of their traditional animist  religion, byeri, and the Catholicism of their French colonizers. The Ngil Secret Society is responsible for social control by assembling in the night to punish sorcerers and purify the village of evil. The Society’s masks are made to resemble the powerful gorilla, and a full suit of raffia fiber is worn to enhance the effect of furriness.

: /by
,

Viejo Verde

TITLE: Viejo Verde
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Suchitepéquez
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Viejo Verde (Dirty Old Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT019
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Danza de los Viejitos
AGE: ca. 1950s-1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Danza de los Viejitos in Guatemala has several incarnations. This is one of the oldest dances in this region of Guatemala and is usually performed to honor the patron saint of the village and to poke fun at the village elders. This specific mask originates in Suchitepéquez Department of coastal Guatemala and was danced for many years. It represents a viejo verde, or “dirty old man,” because of his slightly lewd expression. Notice the many darkened teeth, suggesting tooth loss or decay from advanced age.

: /by
,

Cajun Mardi Gras

TITLE: Cajun Mardi Gras
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
SUB-REGION: Acadiana, Louisiana
ETHNICITY: Cajun
DESCRIPTION: Mesh Mardi Gras Mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS046
MAKER: Chris Raymond (Metairie, Louisiana, 1964- )
CEREMONY: Courir de Mardi Gras
AGE: 2014
MAIN MATERIAL: steel wire mesh
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed cotton cloth; synthetic fur; glue; paint; elastic band

In Catholic practice, Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) is the last day of celebration of Carnival before the fasting period of Lent. In the Acadiana country of southern Louisiana, the descendants of French Canadian immigrants known as “Cajuns” (short for “Acadians”) celebrate Mardi Gras in a manner quite different from the better known Carnival of New Orleans.  The Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras parade) occurs in most towns of Cajun country only on Mardi Gras itself.

Masqueraders wear full or partial wire mesh masks and quilted suits with tall, conical hats covered in colorful fabric.  They either ride from farm to farm on horseback or drive as a group in trucks with an unmasked leader wearing the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, purple, and gold.  When they reach a farm, the captain, who carries a whip in one hand and a white flag in the other, approaches the farmer and asks: “Le Mardi Gras demande votre permission pour visiter ta maison” (“The Mardi Gras requests permission to visit your house”), or words to that effect. Upon assent, the revelers descend and run or crawl toward the house, singing a begging song, then exploding into pranks and comedic antics while the captain tries to subdue them with his whip. The only way to make them leave is to donate gifts or money, traditionally a chicken for the evening gumbo, in which the farmer is invited to partake.

For more on the Acadian Carnival celebration, see the excellent book by Carl Lindahl and Carolyn Ware, Cajun Mardi Gras Masks (University Press of Mississippi, 1997).


Click above to watch a short documentary film about Cajun Mardi Gras in Louisiana, 2019 and 2024.

: /by
,

Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask

TITLE: Yangju Byeolsandae Yeoniptal Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Yangju, Gyeonggi Province
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Yeoniptal Mask
CATALOG ID: ASKR010
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Byeolsandae Drama
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton hood; paint

Sandae noli is the type of masked drama in Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul region, Korea. It was historically part of seasonal village festivities. The play is accompanied by music played on a small samhyeon yukgak ensemble, consisting of three aerophones, one chordophone, and two membranophones.  The full performance involves dozens of characters in different masks.

This mask represents the Yeoniptal character, a high Buddhist monk with mystical powers.

For more on Korean masquerade, see Jeon Kyung-wook, Korean Mask Dance Dramas: Their History and Structural Principles (Gyeonggi-do, Rep. of Korea: Youlhwadang Pub. 2005).

: /by
, , ,

Tibetan Lakhe

TITLE: Tibet Lakhe
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: China
SUBREGION: Tibet
ETHNICITY: Tibetan
DESCRIPTION: Lakhe Mask
CATALOG ID: ASCN009
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Divination; Healing; Purification; Spirit Invocation
AGE: late 19th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: traces of pigment

Shamanic masks arise from animistic religious beliefs rather than Hindu or Buddhist influences. The shamanic influence in Himalayan societies probably arrived from Mongolian nomadic invaders.  The aspiring shaman must depart the community and live in isolation to commune with nature spirits. If the aspirant succeeds, he or she returns to the village with supernatural powers to invoke ancestor and nature spirits that can be either malevolent or protective and turn them to the good of the community.  This gives the shaman healing and divination powers that are used in major life events, such as births, illness, marriage, or death.  Masks are worn during these ceremonies to help the shaman mediate between the material and spiritual worlds.

This mask appears to represent Lakhe, a local demon with a connection to the Hindu god Indra.

: /by