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Nuo Kaishan Mask

TITLE: Nuo Kaishan Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: China
SUBREGION: Guangxi
ETHNICITY: Maonan
DESCRIPTION: Nuo mask of Kaishan
CATALOG ID: ASCN012
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Nuoxi
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Entertainment; Purification
AGE: 1940s
MAIN MATERIAL: poplar or willow wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint

The Nuoxi of 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 represents the god Kaishan, “the mountain opener,” who leads the ceremony for the clearing or planting of a new field. His fierce face is supposed to scare away evil spirits.

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Moor Mask

TITLE: Moor Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Guerrero
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Moro (Moor) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX173
MAKER: Unknown maker in Atlihaca
CEREMONY: Danza de los Moros y Cristianos
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: deer leather and fur; adhesive; paint; jute cord

The Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), also known as the Danza de la Conquista, is an important celebration in many parts of Mexico. The dance reenacts the reconquest Spain from the Saracens by the European Christians. The dance arose from the teachings of 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, Veracruz, and parts of Guerrero. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. This mask represents a Moor.

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Conquista Tecu Uman

TITLE: Conquista Tecu Uman
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: El Quiché
ETHNICITY: Mayan (K’iché)
DESCRIPTION: Tecu Uman Mask
CATALOG #: LAGT011
MAKER: Unknown maker in Chichicastenango with initials J.C.
CEREMONY: Danza de la Conquista
AGE: ca. 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; German glass doll eyes; wood putty

The Danza de la Conquista (Dance of the Conquest), also sometimes called the Baile de Cortès (Dance of Hernán Cortez), is a ceremony performed in many parts of Guatemala, as well as Mexico and other parts of Central and South America. In Guatemala, the dance is supposed to tell the story of the conquest of the Mayan Empires, led by Tecu Uman, by the Spanish conquistadors, led by Pedro de Alvarado or Hernán Cortez. The dance involves a complex set of speeches and songs and, in many places, takes several hours to complete, often in two or three separate acts. In San Cristóbal Totonicapán, the Spaniards are led by Alvarado and come with a disciplined army. They are aided by two female characters, one of whom represents Malinche (called Doña Marina by the Spaniards), an Aztec princess who served as Cortez’s translator. The Mayan war council is advised by a shaman known as the ajitz, who helps but whose prophecies of Spanish conquest are ignored. In addition, an Aztec renegade assists the Mayans. After many speeches, discussions, songs, and melee battles, the Mayans are ultimately conquered and converted to Catholicism.

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

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Senufo Kponyugo

TITLE: Senufo Kponyugo
TYPE: crest mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
ETHNICITY: Senufo
DESCRIPTION: Kponyugo Mask
CATALOG #: AFCI026
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Funeral; Protection/Purification; Secret Society; Social Control
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: n/a

The Senufo people and reside primarily in Côte d’Ivoire, with some also living in Burkina Faso and Mali. Among their many masking traditions is the kponyugo, or firespitter mask. Its literal meaning is “head of one who died,” and it is used primarily by the Poro secret society at funerals, to drive away evil spirits and punish human malefactors. The mask combines attributes of multiple fierce animals, such as the hyena and warthog (both dominant here), crocodile, ram, and antelope. Women and children are counseld not to look at the kponyugo due to its ferocity.

This mask was acquired by a generous gift from an anonymous donor.

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Mam (Lucas) Mask

TITLE: Mam (Lucas) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Baja Verapaz
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Achí)
DESCRIPTION: Mam (Old Man) Mask of Lucas
CATALOG #: LAGT010
MAKER: Juan Chen Ordóñez (Rabinal, 1926-2017)
CEREMONY: Baile de los Costeños (Baile del Costeño)
AGE: 1990
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed agave fiber hair; oil-based paint

Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, has numerous masked folk dances. Among them is the Baile del Costeño, sometimes called the Baile de los Costeños (Dance of the Coastal People), which is an early colonial dance-drama. The dance usually has 12 characters, divided into four buyers have come inland to exchange cocoa for cattle (maxeños, or cargadores), and six sellers of cattle, who are cowboys. The buyers are Cristóbal (the boss), Pablo (1st buyer, in a red mask), Ratón (2nd buyer, in a black mask), Mundo (3rd buyer). The vaqueros are Pascual (the boss), Tomás, Gaspar, Juan, Lucas (Mam, in a red mask with whiskers), and El Torito. Except for Lucas, the vaqueros wear flesh-colored masks with blue chins and gold eyebrows. There are also three more characters: La Panchita (wife of Lucas), El Torito, and El Miquito.  Several of these names are evocative of comical characteristics of the dances. Ratón means “Mouse,” Mundo means World, La Panchita means “The Little Stomach.” The dancers are accompanied by music from three marimba players.

In the drama, the sellers arrive in Rabinal during a holiday to unload their cattle for cocoa. They bring with them a beautiful woman, La Panchita, who is the wife of Lucas (represented by this mask), an old man. The cowboys have brought with them a little bull (El Torito) and the buyers have a little monkey (El Miquito), and together they have a mock bullfight for fun. Meanwhile, La Panchita has prepared food for the group, and soon the buyers, who have become drunk, start bothering La Panchita. Lucas then fights them off with a whip (chilío). Nonetheless, La Panchita shows some favor to the third buyer (Mundo), who has the group’s money. The dance ends when the leaders of each group, Cristóbal and Pascual, bargain to exchange the cocoa and cattle (symbolized by El Torito). The bull is branded by the buyers, and then they return to having a bullfight. At this point, they tell the story they have enacted in speeches, and then take their leave of the marimba players, thus ending the dance-drama. The whole proceeding takes about two to two-and-a-half hours.

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

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Tiger Mask

TITLE: Tiger Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Sacatepéquez
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Kaqchikel)
DESCRIPTION: Tigre (Tiger) Mask
CATALOG #: LAGT006
MAKER: Dolores Pérez Martínez (San Antonio Aguas Calientes, 1932-2021)
CEREMONY: Baile de los Animalitos
AGE: 2006
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; elastic straps

The Baile de los Animalitos (Dance of the Little Animals), also called the Baile de los Animales, is an annual ceremony in several cities of central and southern Guatemala, usually during a holiday in honor of the town’s patron saint. The dance involves an angel, a hunter, and many different kinds of animals, including the jaguar (sometimes represented by a tiger, as here).  The dance probably predates the Spanish conquest, and involves many speeches by the animals relating to their characteristics, their role in the ecosystem, and (since colonization) their anomalous praise of the Virgin Mary. The hunter no longer hunts the animals in the modern rendition. After the speeches, they all dance to a marimba band.

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

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Quiché Achí Mask

TITLE: Quiché Achí Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Baja Verapaz
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Achí)
DESCRIPTION: Quiché Achí Mask
CATALOG #: LAGT001
MAKER: Ezequiel Chen Zarpéc (Rabinal, 1950- )
CEREMONY: Xajoj Tun (Rabinal Achí)
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; elastic straps

The Xajoj Tun (Dance of the Drum), also called the Rabinal Achí, is a dance-drama exclusive to Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. It is performed on January 17-26 every year during the patron saint holiday, and represents a story from pre-Catholic Mayan culture. It begins with a blessing on the dancers, masks, and musical instruments, followed by prayer to the ancestors and characters represented to ask for permission to perform the play. Prayers are also made at local churches. The drama is set in the Mayan Kaiyub’ fortress and relates the tale of a K’iché warrior captured and sentenced to death by the royal court. The play begins with the capture of a K’iché warrior (the Quiché Achí, represented by this mask), whose army has invaded Rabinaleb, by the Rabinal Achí. He is taken to the royal court, where he is sentenced to die as a sacrifice to the gods. The Rabinal Achí tells the prisoner he will be spared death if he prostrates himself, but the Quiché Achí refuses. He makes many requests, all of which are granted, but he also asks for 260 days and nights to say farewell to his K’iché homeland. He receives no response, but leaves anyway. When he returns, the Rabinal Achí ties him to a tree, and eagle and jaguar warriors dance around him and throw spears at him until he dies.

The drama is accompanied by music from two trumpets, a flute, and a wooden drum. In addition, three copper plates are struck at the end of each dialogue.  Nine days after the conclusion of the performance, another ceremony is performed at the house of the director, to give thanks.

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

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Moor Mask

TITLE: Moor Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Sacatepéquez
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Kaqchikel)
DESCRIPTION: Moro (Moor) Mask
CATALOG #: LAGT036
MAKER: Juan Sinay (San Antonio Aguas Calientes, 1867-1957)
CEREMONY: Baile del Torito
AGE: 1897
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; hardware repairs

The Baile de lor Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), also sometimes called the Danza de la Conquista, is an annual ceremony in several cities of Guatemala, usually during a holiday in honor of the town’s patron saint. The dance tells the story of the reconquest of the Spain from the Moors in 1492. In the dance, one character represents the Moorish king, another the queen, and a third the Christian king. In addition, one or more Moorish soldiers are represented, as well as an angel in some versions. After a ritual battle, the Moors are vanquished or converted to Catholicism.

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

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Conquista Malinche

TITLE: Conquista Malinche
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Totonicapán
ETHNICITY: Mayan (K’iché)
DESCRIPTION: Malinche Mask
CATALOG #: LAGT002
MAKER: José Alejandro Tistoj Mazariegos (San Cristóbal Totonicapán,, 1904-1985)
CEREMONY: Danza de la Conquista
AGE: 1965
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; German glass doll eyes; wood putty

The Danza de la Conquista (Dance of the Conquest), also sometimes called the Baile de Cortès (Dance of Hernán Cortez), is a ceremony performed in many parts of Guatemala, as well as Mexico and other parts of Central and South America. In Guatemala, the dance is supposed to tell the story of the conquest of the Mayan Empires, led by Tecu Uman, by the Spanish conquistadors, led by Pedro de Alvarado or Hernán Cortez. The dance involves a complex set of speeches and songs and, in many places, takes several hours to complete, often in two or three separate acts. In San Cristóbal Totonicapán, the Spaniards are led by Alvarado and come with a disciplined army. They are aided by two female characters, one of whom represents Malinche (called Doña Marina by the Spaniards), an Aztec princess who served as Cortez’s translator. Malinche and the other female were formally played by men in masks such as this one, but today they are primarily played by ummasked young girls, who sing periodically. The Mayan war council is advised by a shaman known as the ajitz, who helps but whose prophecies of Spanish conquest are ignored. In addition, an Aztec renegade assists the Mayans. After many speeches, discussions, songs, and melee battles, the Mayans are ultimately conquered and converted to Catholicism.

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

This mask is from the second kind, and represents Malinche (properly, Malinalli), a noble Aztec maiden sold into slavery by her mother to the Mayans, then resold to the conquistador Hernán Cortés along with other girls. When he discovered Malinche spoke Nahuatl as well as Mayan, he used her as an interpreter in making the alliances with local peoples that ultimately led to the subjugation of all of Mexico. She and Cortés eventually became lovers, and she bore a son for him, but when Cortés’ wife arrived in Mexico, he married her off to another Spaniard.

The indigenous view of Malinche is mixed. Some view her as a heroine who helped turn Mexico to Catholicism, while others view her as a betrayer.  Either way, she plays an important role in the dance retelling the conquest of Mexico.

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Huehuecho Mask

TITLE: Huehuecho Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Baja Verapaz
ETHNICITY: Mayan (Achí)
DESCRIPTION: Huehuecho (Goiter) mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT012
MAKER: Ezequiel Chen Zarpéc (Rabinal, 1950- )
CEREMONY: Baile de los Huehuechos (Güegüechos)
AGE: 2021
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

The Baile de los Huehuechos (sometimes spelled Güegüechos) is one of several pre-Christian masked dances of the Rabinal region of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. In the Achí dialect, a güegüecho is a goiter. The dance is also sometimes called the Danza de la Patzca (Dance of the Rags), and it is normally danced in Rabinal during the celebration of Corpus Christi. The dance originally was dedicated to the Mayan god of rain, Jun Toj, to guarantee the conditions for a good harvest. Its characters consist of four men with gigantic goiters (like this mask), four with small goiters carrying pilgrim staves, and a woman named Aj Muy. They frequently cry out “jakorik ka petn chic,” which in Achí means: “May the frost come to me.”

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

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