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Mapuche Mask

TITLE: Mapuche Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Argentina or Chile
SUBREGION: Araucanía
ETHNICITY: Mapuche (Araucanian)
DESCRIPTION: Unknown Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Unknown
FUNCTION: Funerary; Healing
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The Mapuche people make up the majority of indigenous peoples in Chile, and many have migrated to southwestern Argentina, including Patagonia. Mapuche society is primarily agrarian and organized into tribal groups under the leadership of a lonko (chief). The Mapuche people traditionally made burial masks of stone, as well as masks of wood, leather, copper, and possibly silver, in funerary and healing rituals.

The Museum’s collection currently includes no representative example of a Mapuche mask.

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Tschäggättä Mask

TITLE: Tschäggättä Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Switzerland
SUBREGION: Valais
ETHNICITY: Swiss
DESCRIPTION: Tschäggättä Mask
CATALOG ID: EUCH016
MAKER: Thomas Werlen (Ferden, 1941- )
CEREMONY: Tschäggättä
FUNCTION: Entertainment; Protection/Purification
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: sheep leather and wool; goat leather and hair; paint; stitching; cotton cloth and batting; metal staples

In the Lötschental Valley, the Carnival season coincides with the Tschäggättä. The masqueraders wear frightening wood masks, often with large teeth and horns, and suits of animal skins, with cowbells arond their waists. The Tschäggättä come down from the mountains and parade through the local villages, frightening and playing pranks on anyone they meet.

An apocryphal story tried to explain the practice as arising from poor villagers on the shady side of the valley, who would allegedly put on masks to steal food from their more prosperous neighbors on the sunny side. In reality, the original ceremony was a pre-Christian ritual to scare away the winter, similar to those practiced throughout central Europe. With the proselytization of Switzerland, the tradition was merged with the Carnival tradition, and the anonymity of masquerade gave young men the chance to break social conventions and flirt with girls. In modern practice, women as well as men participate in the ritual.

Unfortunately, the best book on Tschäggättä is available in German only: Ignaz Bellwald, Tschäggättä: Ein Geheimnis Bleiben Sie (Kulturverein Chiipl, 2013).

This specific mask was worn by Lucas Werlen, the son of the maker, from 2020 to 2025.

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Hahoe Dance-Drama Mask

TITLE: Hahoe Nobleman Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Korea
SUBREGION: Geongsangbuk-do
ETHNICITY: Korean
DESCRIPTION: Hahoe Nobleman Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment; protection/purification
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; lacquer; silk cords

The Hahoe Byeolsingut dance-drama is a ceremony dating back to at least the 12th century. In it, stock characters act out plays to amuse the observers and teach social lessons. There are ten traditional episodes in a play squence, beginning with religious rituals of prayer. The dramas are highly stylized and often accompanied by music. The Hahoe masks, unlike most talnori masks, are made of wood and not ritually burned after the performance to exorcise any demons inhabiting the mask.

Although tourist masks representing Hahoe dance-drama characters are common, genuine masks made for use are rare and considered sacred objects. The Museum’s collection does not currently include a representative example of a genuine Byeolsingut Talnori mask.

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Hill Jatra Mask

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.

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Ramman Mask

TITLE: Ramman Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: India
SUBREGION: Uttarakhand
ETHNICITY: Garhwal
DESCRIPTION: Ramman Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Ramman Festival of Bhumiyal Devta
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: Bhoj (Betula utilis) wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

Every year in late April, the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in Uttarakhand celebrate Ramman, a religious festival in honour of the patron god, Bhumiyal Devta, a local Hindu divinity. This ceremony includes the recitation of parts of the Ramayana and various legends, and the performance of songs and masked dances. The Bhandaris, representing locals of the Kshatriya caste, are alone entitled to wear one of the most sacred masks, that of the half-man, half-lion Hindu deity, Narasimha. The family that hosts Bhumiyal Devta during the year must adhere to a strict daily routine. Other masked figures include other deities and characters from the Ramayana.

The Museum’s collection does not currently include a representative example of a Ramman mask.

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Asaro Mudmen Mask

TITLE: Asaro Mudmen Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Papua New Guinea
SUBREGION: Eastern Highlands
ETHNICITY: Melanesian (Asaro)
DESCRIPTION: Mudmen (Holosa) Mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Holosa
FUNCTION: Entertainment; Protection/Purification
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: clay
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The holosa or mudmen ritual of the Asaro people tells the story of an historical battle in which the Asaro people emerged victorious after emerging from the Asaro River covered in mud and appearing to their enemies as spirits, causing the enemies to flee. The masks are sculpted by each wearer and left to dry in the eaves of their houses. As a result, they are relatively soft (unfired) and brittle.

The Museum’s collection does not currently include a representative example of a holosa mask.

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Angas Helmet Mask

TITLE: Angas Helmet Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Angas (Ngass)
DESCRIPTION: helmet-form dance mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Agriculture/Hunting; Secret Society
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: woven vegetable fiber
OTHER MATERIALS: abrus seeds; animal hair; thread; cotton balls

The Angas, or Ngass, people of northeastern Nigeria have a secret men’s society charged with performing dance rituals for male adult initiation, usually at harvest time. The dance is intended to ensure a prolific harvest and to teach young men the rituals of adulthood.

The Museum currently has no representative example of any Angas mask in its collection.

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Dogon Peul Mask

TITLE: Dogon Peul Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Mali
ETHNICITY: Dogon
DESCRIPTION: Peul (female Peul tribe member) mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
FUNCTION: Funerary; Protection/Purification; Spirit Invocation; Secret Society
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: rope; cowrie shells; thread

The Dogon people of Mali have many mask forms, primarily used by secret societies in funerary rituals to purify the village and protect it from ancestor spirits. The peul mask is a cloth hood mask that has a unique coiffure and eye holes. It is typically decorated with cowrie shells and glass trade beads to simulate a woman of the neighboring peul ethnicity.

Peul masks are rare, and the Museum currently has no representative example in its collection.

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Baga Basonyi Mask

TITLE: Baga Basonyi Mask
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Rep. of Guinea
ETHNICITY: Baga
DESCRIPTION: Basonyi (snake spirit) mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Protection/Purification; Spirit Invocation; Secret Society
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The snake masks of the Baga people are used in pairs during adult initiation rituals for boys. The basonyi, also called kalimbe, represent male and female spirits that act as the protectors of young male initiates. They engage in a mock duel at the beginning of the ceremony to demonstrate their strength and protect the village. These masks are worn on the head, attached to a scaffolding, with the body of the dancer covered in palm leaves and cloth. The masks can sometimes reach 3 meters tall.

The Museum currently has no Basonyi mask in its collection.

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Bembe Elanda Mask

TITLE: Bembe Elanda Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Dem. Rep. of Congo
ETHNICITY: Bembe
DESCRIPTION: Elanda mask
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Elanda Society Dance
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Spirit Invocation; Secret Society
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The Bembe people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have multiple associations, one of which is the all-male Elanda Society. The Elanda Society can be joined only by those men willing to undertake complex initiation rituals. Elanda masks typically have horns, large ears, or other animal characteristics to invoke bush spirits, as well as multiple sets of eyes.

The Museum currently has no Elanda mask in its collection.

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