TITLE: Paraguayan Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Paraguay
SUBREGION: N/A
ETHNICITY: Guarani
DESCRIPTION: N/A
CATALOG ID: N/A
MAKER: N/A
CEREMONY: Regionally dependent
FUNCTION: Regionally dependent
AGE: N/A
MAIN MATERIAL: N/A
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

Paraguay celebrates eight different masked traditions in indigenous regions. These are mostly Guarani ethnic groups. They include Arete Guasu, in Santa Teresita in the Chaco region; the Festival of San Pedro and San Pablo in Itaguazu in the Altos region; the Festival of the Nativity of the Virgin in Itaguasu in the Altos region; the Festival of Kamba ra Anga in the Community of 21 de Julio in the Tobati region; the Santo Rey Ara in Compañía Rosado in the Tobati region; Kurusu San Roque Ara in Yaguaron in the Paraguari region; and the Festival of San Francisco Solano in the Emboscada region. Functions may include protection, purification, spirit invocation, and adult initiation. The festivities typically include processions and dances.

The Museum’s collection currently includes no representative example of any Paraguayan mask.