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Mardi Gras Father Flame

TITLE: Mardi Gras Father Flame
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
SUB-REGION: New Orleans, Louisiana
ETHNICITY: Mixed
DESCRIPTION: Leather Father Flame Mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS062
MAKER: Vincent Alan Ur (Tulsa, OK, 1966- )
CEREMONY: Mardi Gras
AGE: 2004
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: acrylic paint

In Catholic practice, Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) is the last day of celebration of Carnival before the fasting period of Lent. In the United States, the holiday is nowhere more vigorously celebrated than in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, a two-week Carnival season terminating on Mardi Gras is celebrated with parades composed of elaborate costumes and masks, floats, marching bands, all organize by private “krewes” composed of public-spirited citizens dedicated to preserving the Mardi Gras tradition. Krewes tend to have a fairly constant structure of officers, who frequently ride horseback in handsome costumes and white draped masks, float riders who chuck “throws,” or small gifts such as plastic beaded necklaces, toys, or mementos (usually with the krewe’s name and insignia) into the cheering crowds, and a guest “king” and “queen” of the krewe.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is also typically celebrated with formal balls held by the krewes in honor of the king and queen, and to celebrate the season.  Mask wearing among street celebrants is common as well. Traditionally, Mardi Gras masks are made of formed and painted leather, and can represent any character from real life or fantasy.  In modern practice, cheap masks mass manufactured of sequined cloth or paper maché covered in dyed feathers have become common.

This specific mask was hand made by a skilled artisan from Tulsa, Oklahoma and brought to New Orleans during Mardi Gras to be sold. Fantastical characters and beasts are common choices for Mardi Gras characters in New Orleans.



Click above to watch a short documentary about Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2019 and 2020.

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Onidaiko Oni Mask

TITLE: Onidaiko Oni Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Sado Island
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Onidaiko female oni (demon) Katagami-style mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP025
MAKER: Ohoshima Jyunji (Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto, 1930- )
CEREMONY: Onidaiko Dance
FUNCTION:
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; cashew tree lacquer; brass; gold dust; cloth; Velcro straps; horse hair

Onidaiko, also known less formally as Ondeko, is a dance performed solely on Japan’s Sadogashima (Sado Island). The word is a compound of oni and taiko. Taiko is a large, barrel-shaped drum, which is always played at the onidaiko dance. The word oni typically signifies a demon or ogre, but on Sadogashima the character is more a representative of the Shinto gods who protect the Sado villages. The masquerader represents this divine messenger who dances vigorously to the music of drums and sometimes other instruments in order to drive away evil spirits and to ensure a good harvest.

There are several types of Onidaiko dance on Sadogashima, typically divided into five categories. In the central and northeastern part of the island, Katagami drum style is popular. The Katagami group is preceded by a pair representing gods, known as mikomen, one of whom holds bells and the other a folding fan. A pair of oni (one male and one female) holding drumsticks dance slowly one at a time, usually with two lions (shishimai), suggesting a tie to China’s Tang Lion Dance.  This mask represents a female oni of the Katagami style. If a lion bites an audience member’s head, it is considered to confer a blessing on that person.

In the south eastern part of the island is Maehama style, in which the male and female oni always dance together, and a flute is added to the drums. In addition, Roso (an old monk) wearing a half-mask confers blessings on the village. A pair of (unmasked) drummers may dance together. In some villages, the oni hold an axe or naginata (Japanese halberd) and dance on one foot.

In the north and west, Mamemaki style dominates. An okina (in the mask of an old man) prays for the well-being of the village while holding an eggplant or persimmon and symbolically scattering beans from a wooden box for good luck. He is guarded by two oni, one wielding a staff and the other a naginata (Japanese halberd), who do not dance.  In the Mamemaki style, there are also a pair of masked dancers representing the mamemaki.

Near the town of Ogi in the southwest, Issoku style is most popular, and the oni jump on one foot while playing the drum.

Finally, in two villages on the eastern part of Sado, Hanagasa style is performed. There, the celebration involves many more participants, including a lion dance and folk singers, and women wear a straw hat decorated with flowers.

In most cases, the role of the oni and shishimai is to draw evil spirits from surrounding area and transfer them to the drum, which represents a sacred shrine, thereby purifying and protecting the village. Often, the drum has the tomoe symbol on it, representing water, which is essential to the success of agriculture. The dance is performed most commonly in the spring during rice sowing and sometimes in the fall at harvest. It may also be performed on other important occasions, such as regional and local festivals.

Onidaiko probably originates in Buddhist dances from the eight or ninth century C.E., although its precise origin is contested. Some believe it to have begun only in the Edo period (1603 to 1868).

Because the Museum has been unable to acquire an onidaiko mask from any maker or dance group on Sadogashima, this specimen was acquired from Inoue Corporation of Kyoto.

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Krampus Mask

TITLE: Krampus Face Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Austria
SUBREGION: Vorarlberg
ETHNICITY: German (Austrian)
DESCRIPTION: Krampus face mask
CATALOG ID: EUAT005
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Krampuslauf
AGE: ca. 1910
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: Ziegenbock horns; hardware; paint

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.

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Bugaku Somakusha

TITLE: Bugaku Somakusha
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Osaka Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Somakusha Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP002
MAKER: “Miyatake”
CEREMONY: Bugaku
AGE: 1990
MAIN MATERIAL: kanshitsu
OTHER MATERIALS: lacquer; kaolin clay; gold leaf; plant fiber; horse hair

Bugaku is an official court dance of Japan, dating back to about 500 C.E.  During the Heian period, Bugaku dances were so central to protocol that nearly all ceremonies and festivals included them. The dance was especially important in appeasing angry gods, purifying the village, and petitioning the gods for rain or a good harvest.  The dance is performed to the music of drums and flutes. The dancers enter the stage singly in succession, then dance together in pairs, in synchronicity to varying tempos. Each dance has its own mask and is named after the mask.

Bugaku masks were sometimes made of wood, and sometimes (like this one) made from kanshitsu, a composite of sawdust and resin shaped over a mold. This mask is a near replica of one from the 1920s or 1930s kept in the Shitennō-ji Temple in Osaka.

The Somakusha is thought to represent the god of a mountain who dances for a flute playing hermit who descended from the mountain after his devotions there.

For more on Bugaku masks, see Kyōtarō Nishikawa, Bugaku Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. 1971).


Click above to watch a short documentary film about the Bugaku dance of Japan.

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Español Mask

TITLE: Español Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Español (Spaniard) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX155
MAKER: Unknown maker in Tenexaco
CEREMONY: Danza de la Conquista
AGE: 1940s-1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Danza de la Conquista (Dance of the Conquest) in Mexico can refer either to the conquest of the Aztecs by the Spaniards or to the conquest (properly, reconquest) of Spain from the Saracens by the European Christians. This mask is used for reenacting the latter conquest, which is frequently and more correctly called the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians). The latter 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 (like this one), Moors, saints, angels, and devils.

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Tigre Mask

TITLE: Tigre Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Jaguar) Helmet Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX026
MAKER: Unknown maker in Zitlala
CEREMONY: Batalla de los Tigres (Tecuanis)
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: mirrors; thread; 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.

This mask is from Zitlala, where hard leather helmet masks are typically used to protect the masquerader’s head from the blows of the ropes. Such masks are either yellow or green depending on the neighborhood (barrio) where it was made.

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Fang Ngil Mask

TITLE: Fang Ngil Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Gabon
ETHNICITY: Fang
DESCRIPTION: Ngil (gorilla) mask with figure on head
CATALOG ID: AFGA003
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. This mask is unusual in its relatively serene expression and the inclusion of a second ape atop the head.

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Tejerones Donkey Mask

TITLE: Tejerones Donkey Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Oaxaca
ETHNICITY: Mixtec
DESCRIPTION: Burro (donkey) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX090
MAKER: José “Ché” Luna López (Huazolotitlán, Pinotepa Nacional, 1931-2022)
CEREMONY: Danza de los Tejorones
AGE: 1975
MAIN MATERIAL: red cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Danza de los Tejorones originates in the resentment felt by the Mixtec people at the political and economic domination of the Spaniards and mestizos. The tejorones characters wear poorly fitting suits and Caucasian-type masks with a feather headdress, and carry rattles in one hand a handkerchief, machete, or gun in the other. It begins with music as the tejorones characters line up in two files opposite one another, with the sole female character, Maria Candelaria, at one end. They dance in an intricate pattern and periodically shout while animals such as the tigre (jaguar), dog, cow, or donkey, surround them and act out their roles. The behavior of the tejorones is offensive to the crowd, with insults shouted and sexual taboos violated, but the crowd must endure it patiently.

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Torito Mask

TITLE: Torito Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Chiapas
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Torito (little bull) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX009
MAKER: Paola Carolina Torres Hidalgo (Chiapa de Corzo)
CEREMONY: Baile del Torito y Parachico
AGE: 2009
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; lacquer; oil paint; cattle horns; glass eyes; cattle teeth; cattle hair

The Baile del Torito y Parachico (Dance of the Little Bull and Parachico) is unique to Chiapas, the southernmost region of Mexico, and is most commonly performed in Chiapa de Corzo and Suchiapa. The dance begins with six to eight female dancers dancing to the music of drums, flute, and sometimes other instruments, after which a dancer in a bull mask and a dancer in a parachico mask enter, dance with the ladies, and stage a mock bullfight. Both the torito and the parachico wear black pants, white shirt, and a multicolored sarape.

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Bamileke Kuosi Society Mask

TITLE: Bamileke Kuosi Society Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Cameroon
ETHNICITY: Bamileke
DESCRIPTION: Mbap Mgteng elephant mask
CATALOG ID: AFCM001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Kuosi Society
AGE: ca. 1970s-1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed cotton cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: glass beads; cotton wadding; thread

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 festivals for the harvesting of crops. The cloth elephant mask, known as mbap mgteng, depicts an animal of great power on the African plains. Its use is reserved for members of the elite Kuosi Society, who assist the fon (king) in maintaining social control.

Beads were historically imported from the Europeans and very costly, and so their use in a mask represents high status.  The more richly beaded the mask, the higher the wearer’s status.

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