TITLE: Tiger Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Ecuador
SUBREGION: Cotopaxi
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Tiger) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAEC003
CARVER: Luís Mauricio Cuyo (Tigua, 1998- )
PAINTER: Alfredo Toaquiza (Tigua, 1966- )
CEREMONY: Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)
AGE: 2023
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; adhesive; string
On Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) in Riobamba and Cuenca, Ecuador, the citizens parade in animal masks around the city. The animals include a dog (guardian of baby Jesus), monkey (acting as clowns), tigers, and others, including El Curiquingue, a sacred Andean character in white and gold feathered costumes and a pointed, bird-like mask to represent the Caracara. This mask represents a tiger, which is not native to Ecuador, and probably is meant to reference the jaguar, which is. It was carved by one artisan and painted by another.
