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Mazate Mask

TITLE: Mazate Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Baja Verapaz
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Achí)
DESCRIPTION: Mazate (old man) mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT014
MAKER: Unknown maker in Salamá
CEREMONY: Danza de los Mazates
AGE: 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Danza de los Mazates in Baja Verapaz has many incarnations, but most go under the Spanish name Baile (or Danza) de los Viejitos (Dance of the Little Old Men). This is one of the oldest dances in this region of Guatemala and is performed to honor the patron saint of the village. The mazate itself is a deer, and the dance relates to a hunt for deer in the mountains (white-tailed deer). The hunters are represented as men in deteriorated rags and squirrel pelts, wearing grotesque, dark-colored masks, and carrying staves, rattles and wide-brimmed hats. Among the mazate dancers are two distinguished ones: the Mazate Anciano (elder mazate) and the Mazate Joven (young mazate).  In most regions, the mazate masks resembling old men with some degree of realism, but in the distant past, masks could be more abstract and wilder in appearance. Even today, the village of Salamá, where this mask originated, tend to have a more exaggerated look. There is also a single female character, whose role is to attract the deer for the hunters.

The dance takes place to the beat of a large, wood drum (tun) and a small snare drum (tabor). It likely originates in pre-Catholic rituals to bring rain or a good hunt.

For more on Guatemalan masks, see Jim Pieper, Guatemala’s Masks and Drama (University of New Mexico Press, 2006).

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Pra Lersi Tai Fa

TITLE: Pra Lersi Tai Fa
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Thailand
ETHNICITY: Thai
DESCRIPTION: Pra Lersi Tai Fa (Shiva) crest mask
CATALOG ID: ASTH002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Wai Kru Ceremony; Korb Siam Kru Ceremony
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; gold leaf; paint; ribbons

Lersi, a hermit sage, is an adherent of a minority religion in Thailand derived from the Indian Brahmin and Buddhist traditions. The Lersi path is accessible to the laity who wish to dedicate themselves to benevolent spiritual goals. The Lersi believe themselves to acquire supernatural powers, such as healing, levitation, teleportation, pyrokinesis, transmutation of matter, and telepathy through such practices as self-isolation, meditation, and training.

The mask is used in the Korb Siam Kru ceremony as a blessing and purification, to drive away evil spirits.  It is also used in the Wai Kru ceremony to transmit Buddhist merit from the giver to the receiver.  In all cases, the mask is worn on top of the heard as a crest, rather than over the eyes like a helmet.

Lersi masks take many forms, including Brahmin gods and animal spirits.  This specific mask represents Pra Lersi Tai Fa, an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva, who has a third eye that burns all it gazes upon (although, in the strict Brahmin tradition, Shiva has no incarnations). The ribbons indicate it was used in a Wai Kru ceremony.

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Maonan Nuo Mask

TITLE: Maonan Nuo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: China
SUBREGION: Guangxi
ETHNICITY: Maonan
DESCRIPTION: Nuo mask representing Erlang Shen (?)
CATALOG ID: ASCN002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Nuo Opera
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment; Healing; Purification
AGE: 1930s
MAIN MATERIAL: poplar or willow wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; cotton cloth strips

The Nuo opera in China may be traced back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE), possibly much earlier (some believe the Shang and Zhou Dynasties) and was popular in large parts of the empire, but especially along the southern borders, where it was a form of entertainment for the imperial troops. It evolved from a sacrificial rite performed by shamans into a more dramatic form, with both Buddhist and Taoist overtones. Nuo opera is based on historical stories and stories based on the Taoist religion and all roles (including female roles) are performed by men. It evolved into a popular form of entertainment and was eventually accompanied by an orchestra of Chinese instruments.  The Nuo opera never quite lost its shamanic connection, however, and also was used to exorcise evil spirits at the home of sick persons. The sacred connection is evident from a religious ceremony that always precedes the opening of a Nuo opera.  In addition, a wooden statue representing the originator of the opera is present at every performance, and nobody except the opera troupe may touch props used in the performance. Although the Chinese Communist Party attempted to suppress Nuo performances and eliminated it from most of the country, the opera continues to be performed in three southern provinces of China today (Guangxi, Guizhou, and Jiangxi).

The Maonan people form a relatively small ethnic group in China, confined largely to Guangxi province, and it is one of several ethnic groups that adopted Nuo opera deeply into its culture. This mask, with a hat typical of the Maonan people, probably represents a young god, possibly Erlang Shen, judging by the spiritual third eye in the forehead.

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Yoruba Gelede Mask

TITLE: Yoruba Gelede Mask
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Yoruba
DESCRIPTION: Women’s head orange Gelede mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG010
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Gelede Society
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The highly populous Yoruba people inhabit much of Nigeria and parts of Benin. The Gelede Society originates in cultural myths about Yemoja, the mother of all living things, who could not conceive children until she learned a dance with a wooden image on her head. The Gelede is named after Yemoja’s chubby daughter, and the dance therefore has a close connection with fertility rites. Nonetheless, the Gelede ceremony performs diverse functions in Yoruba society, including to pray for rain, purify the village of disease, to enlist spiritual help in wartime, and to honor the dead.

This mask was culturally used, probably in the 1980s, in a Nigerian community.

For more on the Gelede ceremony, see Babatunde Lawal’s incomparable monograph, The Gelede Spectacle (University of Washington Press, 1996).

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Chewa Nyau Mask

TITLE: Chewa Nyau Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Malawi
ETHNICITY: Chewa
DESCRIPTION: Nyau Society mask with red, black and blue paint
CATALOG ID: AFMW001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Funeral; Secret Society; Social Control; Spirit Invocation; Status
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Chewa of Malawi and Zambia are primarily an agricultural people with a matrilineal social structure.  The Nyau Society consists of both male and female initiates, with different rituals and roles ascribed to each.  Masks are worn by male members of the society only. Nyau masks may have several uses. Most commonly, the mask is considered to embody the spirit of a dead ancestor, and therefore the masquerader has immunity for any acts while masked. Some masks embody undesirable social traits and are accompanied by derisive songs; these are used for instruction of the young. Nyau society masks are danced at most major life events, including adult initiation, the elevation of a new chief, and funerals.  Masks may be made of wood, leather, feathered nets, or basketry that resembles an animal and fits over the entire body.

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Cherokee Bear Mask

TITLE: Cherokee Bear Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
SUBREGION: North Carolina
ETHNICITY: Cherokee
DESCRIPTION: Gourd bear (yona avgdulo) dance mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS082
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Bear Dance
AGE: ca. 2000
MAIN MATERIAL: dried gourd half
OTHER MATERIALS: pigment

In the Eastern Cherokee Nation, the Bear Dance originally was danced with bear masks like this one, made of wood or a gourd. The dance is a hunting dance intended to summon the black bears for hunting. The dancers mimic the behavior of a bear, shuffling and growling, in a spiral motion around a fire or other hub. During the second movement of the dance, women join the group and dance facing the men, with both raising their head and hands. Today, the Cherokee have largely abandoned the use of masks in this dance, although the unmasked dance remains popular.

For more on Cherokee masked dance, see Frank G. Speck & Leonard Broom, Cherokee Dance and Drama (University of Oklahoma Press 1951).

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Son de Diablos Mask

TITLE: Son de Diablos Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Peru
SUBREGION: Lima
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Diablo (devil) mask for Son de Diablos dance
CATALOG ID: LAPE015
MAKER: Unknown maker, probably in Lima
CEREMONY: Son de (los) Diablos Dance, Corpus Christi
AGE: ca. 1910
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Son de Diablos (or Son de los Diablos), the “Song of the Devils,” is an Afro-Latino dance developed in Peru by the descendants of African slaves in Lima, possibly as early as 1800.  Despite its ties to Corpus Christi celebrations in the Andean region, the Catholic Church banned the dance in 1817.  Nonetheless, its practice continued abated, finally experiencing a revival in the 1950s.  Masqueraders typically emerge in a large group and do an energetic dance to special music for the occasion.

This mask was made around 1910 in Lima and was used there for many years.

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Yaka Ndeemba Mask

TITLE: Yaka Ndeemba Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Congo, Dem. Rep. of
ETHNICITY: Yaka
DESCRIPTION: Ndeemba N’khanda mask
CATALOG ID: AFCD012
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Makunda (N’khanda)
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: split cane; vegetable fiber; raffia; pigment

The Yaka people of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a male initiation society known as Makunda or N’khanda, which is charged with circumcising, hazing, and teaching boys to become a man (mainly, education in hunting and sex).  During the circumcision dance performances (kinkanda), the initiates wear special masks while their teachers alone are permitted to wear the ritual masks of the Makunda. After initiation, the boys are led out of seclusion and back into the community.  Before festivities can begin, the head teacher (kahyuudi or kayudi) commissions a carver (nkalaweeni or mvumbwa) to create a series of masks. Many types of masks are worn or danced in succession during the final initiation feast:

  • Kambaandzya (a raffia cloth domed helmet mask with a brim bisecting it; the mask is covered in black resin and painted with geometric designs in red, white, blue, and yellow)
  • Tsekedi (a leather or raffia cloth helmet mask with a white, human face and a series of horizontal discs on an inverted cone topping the helmet)
  • Mweelu (a helmet made of braided raffia fiber with large numbers of feathers; birdlike eyes in wood, gourd or bamboo; and a hornbill beak for a mouth)
  • Ndeemba (an abstract human face with bulging eyes carved of wood; many phallic rods come out of the helmet in all directions, including the inverted cone on the very top)
  • Kholuka (a polychrome human face with bulging eyes, and an open mouth showing the teeth, carved of wood; horizontal discs on an inverted cone come from the top, with bird feathers, and polychrome figures of humans or animals)

The kholuka, also known as a mbaala, is worn either by the leader of the initiation or the senior initiate.  It is the last danced, and it is danced alone to signal the end of the initiation ceremony. Unlike the other masked dances, which are entertaining to the audience, the kholuka creates a sense of unease due to the overtly sexual behavior of the dancer.

For more on Yaka masquerade, see Arthur P. Bourgeois, Art of the Yaka and Suku (1984).

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Achachi Mask

TITLE: Achachi Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Bolivia
SUBREGION: Oruro
ETHNICITY: Quechua and Aymara
DESCRIPTION: Achachi (Foreman) helmet mask
CATALOG ID: LABO010
MAKER: Unknown maker in Oruro
CEREMONY: Carnival (La Morenada)
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: tin sheet
OTHER MATERIALS: cotton cloth; plant fibers; wire; paint; dyed ostrich feathers

The Morenada (Dance of the Moors) is an annual ceremony in several towns in the Altiplano region of Bolivia, Peru, and northern Chile, usually incorporated into Carnival.  The dance includes both male and female Moors dancing in a group with whips, rattles, or scepters. A King of the Moors (Rey de Morenos) presides and coordinates the dance. The dance typically occurs in the course of a parade, with marching bands playing musical scores for the dancers.  The precise origins of the Morenada are the subject of debate, with most specialists concluding that the dance was inspired by African slaves brought to Bolivia to work the mines or the subsequent integration of Africans into the Yungas community near La Paz.  The morena wears a fancy version of the traditional Bolivian costume with the classic bowler hat.

This mask represents an achachi, an old, bald man who previously worked as a captain or slave-driver under a colonial landowner.  The achachi may be represented as a black or white man (as here), but in either case he has a long, aquiline nose, bushy beard, cruel expression, and elaborate costume.

This specific mask was fashioned by a skilled mask-maker (caretero) in Oruro in the 1980s or 1990s. By this time, mask makers had ceased using linen soaked in plaster for their masks and begun using shaped tin or steel sheet, often recycled from old oil drums.  Hand painting had also begun to give way to spray painting; both techniques were used on this mask.

For more on Bolivian masquerade, see Peter McFarren ed., Masks of the Bolivian Andes (La Paz: Editorial Quipus/Banco Mercantil SA, 1993).

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Ogoni Helmet Mask

TITLE: Ogoni Helmet Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Ogoni
DESCRIPTION: Helmet mask of a woman with basket on her head
CATALOG ID: AFNG006
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Unknown
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; cloth straps

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 mainly for entertainment, and this may be one such mask.  This exceptionally large helmet (measuring 49 cm tall and 31 cm wide) would give the appearance of an oversized head on the dancer’s body.  Atop the head is a bowl, in which the dancer would probably put fruit.  Like women in many developing countries, Ogoni women balance heavy loads skillfully on their heads to reduce the burden on their arms.

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