TITLE: Tolai Alor Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Papua New Guinea
SUBREGION: East New Britain Island
ETHNICITY: Melanesian (Tolai)
DESCRIPTION: Alor (ghost) Mask
CATALOG ID: OCPG012
MAKER: Turkaul Uradok (Rabaul, 1956- )
CEREMONY: Duk-Duk (Tabaran) Dance
FUNCTION: Adult Initiation; Celebration; Secret Society; Spirit Invocation; War Preparation
AGE: 2005
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; vegetable fiber; cotton netting; dyed human hair
The Tolai people are one of three ethnic groups inhabiting East New Britain island. Prominent among Tolai social groups is the Duk-Duk Society, a male secret society that organizes adult initiation, war preparation, and other ceremonies. During the Duk-Duk Dance, also called the Tabaran Dance, alor characters represent ancestor spirits. Their bodies are painted like skeletons, and they wear frightening masks, usually painted white as a reflection of the spirit realm.
This mask was used for twenty years, from 2005 to 2024.
