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Dogon Dyommo

TITLE: Dogon Dyommo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Mali
ETHNICITY: Dogon
DESCRIPTION: Dyommo (hare) mask
CATALOG ID: AFML008
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Awa Society; Dama
FUNCTION: Entertainment; Funereal
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Dogon people of Mali use a tremendous variety of masks, most of which center around funeral rites to usher the spirit of the dead from the village back to its proper place in the bush. Traditionally, the Awa Society controlled the use of masks. Some masks have an entertainment and story-telling function as well, such as this dyommo (hare) mask along with the dannana (hunter) masquerader. The dannana pretends to hunt several dyommo masqueraders, who hide among the spectators and escape. There are two species of hare that inhabit Dogon territory in Mali, both nocturnal: the African savanna hare (Lepus microtis) and the Cape hare (Lepus capensis). Such hares are so fast that the only animal capable of chasing them down is the cheetah.

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Bamileke Buffalo

TITLE: Bamileke Buffalo
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Cameroon
ETHNICITY: Bamileke
DESCRIPTION: Buffalo Crest
CATALOG ID: AFCM003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Celebration; Funeral; Status
AGE: 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: kaolin clay

The Bamileke people of the Cameroon grasslands are closely related to their neighbors, the Babanki and Bamoun peoples, and have similar artistic styles. The Bamileke society is highly stratified by lineage, with certain royal lineages exclusively entitled to wear certain masks.  Lineage masks may represent persons, such as the kam, ngoin, or animals, and are used principally at funerals and annual harvest festivals. The kam mask is reserved for royalty and is the highest ranking mask, with ngoin, his wife, also highly ranked. Animal masks (other than the elephant) like this one are open to non-royal lineages to use.

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Capra Mask

TITLE: Capra Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Romania
ETHNICITY: Romanian-Moldovan
DESCRIPTION: Bătrânul (Old Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: EURO003
MAKER: Iulian Mihalachi (Bălţăteşti-Neamţ, 1968- )
CEREMONY: Capra (Goat Dance)
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed woolen cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: sheep’s wool; wooden beads

The capra, or goat dance, is performed in parts of rural Romania on New Year’s Eve as part of a caroling tradition. In pre-Christian times, the ritual was probably intended to drive away winter spirits and purify the village. In the dance, masqueraders in bătrânul (old man) masks and costumes and large bells dance to the music of traditional pipes with either a living goat or a masquerader dressed as one.

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Menburyu Hannya Mask

TITLE: Menburyu Hannya Mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Saga Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Hannya mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP026
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Menburyu (Furyu) Dance
AGE: early 2000s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; lacquer; brass; gold dust; horse hair

Menburyu is a form of Furyu, a is a sacred masked dance native to Saga Prefecture in the autumn to seek an abundant harvest. In modern Furyu, dancers are accompanied by brass gongs and taiko drums. The Menburyu form of Furyu is practiced primarily in the southwest region of the prefecture and features a Hannya, or female serpent who has become a demon through spite and jealousy. The origin of the dance is believed to be a military battle in which defending forces attacked an invader at night wearing demon masks, wigs, and loud music to frighten the enemy. Other forms of Menburyu feature the tentsuki mask, representing a half-with a drawing of a dragon. When a Furyu dancer wears a mask, he is considered to incarnate the Buddha.

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Tastoan

TITLE: Tastoan Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Jalisco
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tastoan mask with ceramic motif and Nahuál and Nahuala on nose
CATALOG ID: LAMX042
MAKER: Ubaldo Macías Bernabe (Tonalá, 1972- )
CEREMONY: Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: cow teeth; animal bone; acrylic paint; lacquer; glue paste; wire; thread; elastic bands

In parts of Jalisco and Zacatecas, the holiday in honor of Santiago el Apostól (St. James the Apostle) is held every 25th of July. Celebrants carry spears and dress in long pants, leather chaps, and boots, with demonic masks made of wood (Zacatecas) or molded leather (Jalisco) covered with a montera (headdress) of hair or plant fiber. The festival commemorates a battle between the indigenous warriors of the area and conquistadors. The appearance of the tastoanes, who represent indigenous warriors, conveys their ferocity through sharp teeth, large noses, and snakes, lizards, scorpions and spiders for decorations. This mask has images of the mythical creatures nahual and nahuala, half jaguar and half human, who symbolize the ferocity of the Tonaltecs. In some cases, the masks are dotted to convey the transmission of diseases such as smallpox and syphilis from the Spaniards to the indigenous peoples.

During the celebration, tastoanes and either three kings wearing ceramic masks or three Aztec priestesses (one representing the Tonaltec queen Tzapotzintli, also known as Tzuapili or Cihualpilli) carry an image of St. James along a parade route and dance to music carrying swords or whips, after which they make defiant speeches and engage in a mock battle (jugada) with a participant carrying a whip who represents St. James.  At the end of the battle, all the tastoanes die and St. James is victorious. In the past, all tastoanes were male, but recently women have begun to participate as well.  In some towns, an organization such as a Cofradía de Santo Santiago (Fraternity of St. James) organizes the event.

This specific mask was made by the award-winning craftsman Ubaldo Macías of Tonalá and was danced in the 2016 Fiesta de Santo Santiago in Tonalá.

Click above to watch a short documentary about the tastoanes of Tonalá, Mexico.

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Bamileke Helmet Mask

TITLE: Bamileke Helmet Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Cameroon
ETHNICITY: Bamileke
DESCRIPTION: Helmet Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCM002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Agriculture; Celebration; Funeral; Status
AGE: late 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: none

The Bamileke people of the Cameroon grasslands are closely related to their neighbors, the Babanki and Bamoun peoples, and have similar artistic styles. The Bamileke society is highly stratified by lineage, with certain royal lineages exclusively entitled to wear certain masks.  Lineage masks may represent persons, such as the kam, ngoin, or animals, and are used principally at funerals and annual harvest festivals. The kam mask is reserved for royalty and is the highest ranking mask, with ngoin, his wife, also highly ranked. Helmet masks like this one are open to non-royal lineages to use.

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Fasnet Devil

TITLE: Fasnet Devil
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Germany
SUBREGION: Swabia
ETHNICITY: Swabian
DESCRIPTION: Teufel (Devil) Mask
CATALOG ID: EUDE013
MAKER: Edgar Spiegelhalter (March-Hugstetten, 1952- )
CEREMONY: Fasnet (Carnival)
AGE: 2007
MAIN MATERIAL: linden wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; synthetic fur; foam rubber padding; elastic straps

In many parts of Swabia and Bavaria, Carnival (usually called Fasnet or Fastnet in this region of Germany) is celebrated with parades of masked clowns (Narren).  The clown parade (Narrenlaufen, Narrensprung or Narrenzunft) is organized by guilds, all members of which wear similar kinds of costumes and masks.  Each town has its own guilds, with some overlap in styles of Narro.  Their purpose is to usher in the spring with joy and laughter.

Some carnival masks are not part of Narro guilds, but are unique to the individual wearing them.  This specific mask was made by master carver Edgar Spiegelhalter of Freiburg.  It represents a classic version of the Tyrolean devil (Teufel) character and was used by a member of a Narro guild from 2007 to 2009.

Regrettably, the best texts on Carnival in Bavaria and Swabia are still available in German only: Heinz Wintermantel’s Hoorig, hoorig isch die Katz (Würzburg: Konrad Theiss, 1978) and Dick Eckert’s Die Werdenfelser Fasnacht und ihre Larven (Volk Verlag München, 2015).

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Yaqui Pasko’ola Mask

TITLE: Yaqui Pasko’ola Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Sonora
ETHNICITY: Yaqui
DESCRIPTION: Mañor mask in the shape of a moon
CATALOG ID: LAMX132
MAKER: Preciliano Rodríguez Cupis (Potám)
CEREMONY: Pasko’ola
FUNCTION: celebration; entertainment; funeral; protection
AGE: 1993
MAIN MATERIAL: hardwood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; string; horse hair

The Yaqui and related Mayo people inhabit the desert in the Mexican state of Sonora and southern Arizona. Their religious beliefs are a syncretic version of traditional animist practices and Jesuitical Catholicism. The pasko’olas (in the Spanish, pascolas) were malignant spirits, or children of the Devil, whom God won in a game. For that reason, their masks frequently have crucifixes and they wear a belt with twelve bells, each representing an apostle. To symbolize their evil origins, the masks have ugly expressions and vermin such as lizards, snakes and scorpions painted on them. In addition, dancers wear cords and butterfly cocoons on their legs, representing snakes and their rattles. They also wear a flower on their head, to symbolize rebirth and spring. They frequently play the role of clowns, provoking laughter in the audience by mimicking animals, reversing gender roles, organizing mock hunts, and making jokes.

Pasko’olas are danced at every major religious festival, as well as at birthdays, weddings, and funeral celebrations. For example, in Vicam, pasko’olas have traditionally danced on Día de San Juan Bautista (June 24). Sometimes a group of pasko’olas will be accompanied by a deer dancer, who dances with a taxidermy deer head as a crest. Generally, only men are pasko’ola dancers, but women have sometimes been allowed to dance with the permission of the male dancers.

This specific mask represents an eagle’s beak and is unusual in the sparsity of symbols.

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Vejigante of Loíza Mask

TITLE: Vejigante of Loíza Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Puerto Rico
SUBREGION: Loiza
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Coconut Husk Vejigante Mask
CATALOG ID: CAPR003
MAKER: Wilfredo Vázquez (Loíza)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól
AGE: 2008
MAIN MATERIAL: coconut husk
OTHER MATERIALS: wood; paint

Loiza, Puerto Rico, is an enclave of Afro-Latino culture in otherwise mestizo Puerto Rico.  Unlike in other parts of Puerto Rico, masks of Loiza are carved from abundantly available coconut husks rather than paper maché. Like the masqueraders of Ponce on the other side of the island, Loizan masks sport multiple horns and sharp teeth, accompanied by colorful and frilly costumes, to represent fantastic devils.  Formerly, participants carried an inflated goat or cow bladder (vejiga) on a string with which to bop passers-by on the posterior.  This is how the character got its name, vejigante (bladder-carrier). Today, goat bladders are in short supply, and this practice is rare. Vejigantes nonetheless remain an indispensable part of the Loiza Carnival. In addition, the masqueraders appear at the Fiesta de Santiago el Apostól, the patron saint of Spain, whose holiday is celebrated equally in Loiza on July 25th.

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Raksha Mask

TITLE: Raksha Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Bhutan
ETHNICITY: Ngalop
DESCRIPTION: Raksha Mask
CATALOG ID: ASBT001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Bardo Cham Dance
FUNCTION: Celebration; Protection/Purification
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; dyed silk

Tshechus are annual religious festivals held in Bhutan, scheduled in different months depending on the region. Cham dance, an important part of the celebration, is a classical masked ritual performed mostly by Himalayan Buddhist monks. Each mask and costume signifies a god, demon, human or animal spirit, or clown that entertains as it instructs in religious history, mythology, and morality, frequently based on stories from the lives of Buddhist masters. The dance is performed to traditional Himalayan music played by monks.

This mask represents Raksha, a bull-like character who plays an important role in dances that purify the village and temple of evil spirits and protect them from bad omens. In the Bardo Cham dance, he leads a large group of animal characters (whose identities differ slightly in different Bhutanese towns) in helping the lord of the underworld, Shinjé Chögyel, to judge a hunter who has sinned against Buddhist beliefs by killing animals.

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