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Careto

TITLE: Careto
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Portugal
SUBREGION: Bragança
ETHNICITY: Iberian
DESCRIPTION: Careto of a smiling demon in two-toned wood
CATALOG ID: EUPT007
MAKER: Romeu Jorge Fernandes (Ousilhão, Vinhais, 1988- )
CEREMONY: Festa de Santo Estevão
PURPOSE: Adult Initiation; Celebration
AGE: 2016
MAIN MATERIAL: mulberry wood
OTHER MATERIALS: N/A

The caretos of the tiny village of Ousilhão, in the Vinhais township of Bragança, wear their masks not at Carnival, but during a winter festival in honor of the patron saint of the village, St. Steven (Santo Estevão). This festival is also known as the Festa dos Rapazes (Festival of the Boys), because it serves as an adult initiation ceremony for pubescent boys. The celebration is held on December 25-26 each year, and begins when the village priest symbolically crowns three men in the village square as a king and two vassals. These individuals are responsible for supplying the food and drink in the festivities to follow.

The ceremony that follows involves four masqueraders (historically men, but now women participate as well) bringing boys to the feast wearing demonic masks (caretos) and colorful, cloth costumes. Before and during the feasting and drinking, the masqueraders will sing and dance to the music of bagpipes (gaita de foles), castanets, and drums. Their goal is to make the initiates thoroughly drunk.

Afterward, unmasked villagers carry the image of St. Steven to the village church. The masked characters, being both demonic and drunk, are not allowed to enter the church.

This mask was carved by Romeu Jorge, a military policeman who has been carving the masks since the age of 12.

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Careto

TITLE: Careto
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Portugal
SUBREGION: Lamego
ETHNICITY: Iberian
DESCRIPTION: Careto of Jesus of Nazareth
CATALOG ID: EUPT006
MAKER: Albino Neves (Lazarím)
CEREMONY: Entrudo (Carnival)
AGE: 2015
MAIN MATERIAL: alder wood
OTHER MATERIALS: elastic straps

The residents of the small town of Lazarím, Portugal, claim that their Carnival is the most authentic in Portugal and dates back to the Celtic invasions from central Europe in the first millennium BCE. The participants begin with a walk from Lamego to Lazarím or a town parade, dressed in costumes and masks made of natural materials such as burlap, wicker, pine boughs, or dried grass. The masks are usually hand-carved of wood and uncolored. They most commonly represent devils, but they may also represent animals, kings, or (in this case) Jesus of Nazareth himself. The parade is accompanied by a band of drums and percussion instruments.

After the parade, a young man and woman designated to carry paper maché effigies of a compadre and comadre assemble the village in the square and read out a list of the embarrassing acts of the villagers during the preceding year, to the amusement of all. The shamed individuals are then redeemed by the symbolic burning of the effigies. The villagers then share a feast of bean and meat stew cooking in a large cauldron in the square.  Masqueraders frequently play pranks throughout Fat Sunday and Fat Tuesday.

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Historiantes (Cristiano) Mask

TITLE: Historiantes (Cristiano) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: El Salvador
SUBREGION: San Salvador
ETHNICITY: Mestizo
DESCRIPTION: Cristiano (Christian) Mask
CATALOG ID: LASV004
MAKER: Celio López (San Antonio Abad, 1962- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Historiantes
AGE: 1996
MAIN MATERIAL: pito wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; animal hair; shoestrings

The Danza de los Historiantes (Dance of the Historical Persons), also known as the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians) reenacts the reconquest of Spain by the Christians from the Muslim Saracens.  The story was taught by 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 in several parts of El Salvador, usually on the festival in honor of the village’s patron saint. The dance group includes several Spaniards with their prince and princess or king and queen, and an equal number of Moors with their royalty. Each Spaniard and Moor has a specific role (ambassador, captain, doctor, etc.). Usually each side has its own clown (bufón). In the neighborhood of San Antonio Abad (named after its patron saint), where this mask originates, twelve or more dancers reenact the history with recited verses, feigned combat, and clownish antics. They are accompanied by the music of the carrizo (reed flute) and tambor indio (drum).

In the region of San Salvador, masks are inevitably red and blue, with Christians having clean-shaven faces and Moors having mustaches or beards. In other parts of El Salvador, the masks are different colors (green and pink, bright pink, etc.) or resemble natural skin.

Click above to watch a short documentary about the Historiantes dance-drama of El Salvador.

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Mayo Fariseo

TITLE: Mayo Fariseo
TYPE: face mask portion of a helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Sinaloa
ETHNICITY: Mayo
DESCRIPTION: Judio (Fariseo) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX118
MAKER: Unknown maker in Mochicahui
CEREMONY: Holy Week (Fariseo Dance-Drama)
FUNCTION: celebration; purification; social control
AGE: ca. 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: metal wire mesh; glue; pigment

The Yaqui and related Mayo people inhabit the desert in the Mexican state of Sonora and southern Arizona. Their religious beliefs are a syncretic version of traditional animist practices and Jesuitical Catholicism. The fariseos (Mayo) or chapayekas (Yaqui) are an important society in both communities and are mainly active during the three months surrounding Holy Week. The fariseos in theory represent Pharisees, or the Jews (judios) who supposedly condemned Jesus (it was actually the Romans), and are always represented by leather helmets with wood or painted faces.

Fariseos are organized by a society, with each celebration having a fariseo cabo (head Pharisee) who goes unmasked and organizes the dancers. To join the fariseo society, an applicant must be endorsed by a godfather (padrino) who is already a fariseo, and a godmother (padrina) who is a singer.

Fariseos usually begin dancing for several hours at the houses where idols of saints are kept, and then they come to dance in the town ramadas in the plaza, where the pasko’olas, deer dancer, and coyote dancers have been dancing.

In some village ceremonies, the fariseos, representing evil, repeatedly attack the church and are repelled by Christians throwing flowers. In others, unmasked fariseos represent the Roman persecutors of Christ bearing wooden swords and have battles with masked Christian caballeros (cavalry). Ultimately, the fariseos are defeated and convert to Christianity.  In still other villages, the fariseos follow the procession of the icons of the church and mimic searching for Jesus. Dancing as a fariseo is believed to put the dancer in the good graces of Jesus. When the masked fariseos dance, the dancer holds a rosary with a cross in his mouth during the ceremony to ward off evil.

Normally, all fariseo masks except two are burned after Holy Week. More are made in preparation for the following year. The two that are preserved are kept to be buried with any member of the fariseo society who happens to die during that year. Once worn, the masks are considered sacred objects, because the fariseos pray while dancing.

During Holy Week, the fariseo society takes over most of the legal, police, and religious ceremonies of the Yaqui and Mayo villages. For example, working was traditionally prohibited on Ash Wednesday, and anyone caught working would be brought before the fariseo cabo and fined or, if he or she had no money, forced to drag a heavy mesquite cross along the procession route. At Lent, the fariseos go from house to house, collecting donations for the Fiesta de la Gloria and other religious celebrations.

This mask was formerly attached to a coyote pelt that was not properly cured and disintegrated over time.

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Diablo Mask

TITLE: Diablo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Diablo (Devil) mask with curling nose
CATALOG ID: LAMX101
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1960s-1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; cotton strips

Carnival is celebrated throughout the Catholic world with parades and other festivities, often including masqueraders. It is the celebration before the fasting season of Lent. In Puebla, as in many other parts of Mexico, Carnival is celebrated with masked dances and parades. This character represents the Devil, a fallen angel and symbol of evil in Jewish and Catholic theology. The choice of short horns and an exaggeratedly upward curled nose is a curious innovation, somewhat reminiscent of the Azteca masks of neighboring Veracruz.

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Topeng Tua At’sina

TITLE: Topeng Tua At’sina
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Tua At’sina (Old Man) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID017
MAKER: Ida Wayan Tangguh (Singapadu, 1935-2016)
CEREMONY: Topeng Dance Drama
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; horsehair; silk thread; gold-plated silver; semi-precious stones; velvet cloth; dyed cotton string

The Topeng dance drama is an important traditional entertainment and education on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Its origin can be traced to the oral history of the Balinese people and venerable palm-leaf written histories, influenced by Hinduism imported from India. The dance may have originated as early as 840 CE. The stories depicted in this drama, called Babad Dalem, tell a political history of the islands of Bali and Java as written by the court poets of the regional kings.

This specific mask represents an important character known as tua at’sina, or distinguished old man. The tua is a versatile mask that may represent several characters, including a senior minister, or retired statesman or king. In each case, he is characterized by dignity and wisdom, tainted with pathos by the feebleness of age. The mask was carved and painted by the late master craftsman I. Wayan Tangguh.

For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).

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Somana Kunita Mask

TITLE: Somana Kunita Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: India
SUBREGION: Karnataka
ETHNICITY: Kannada
DESCRIPTION: Goddess Mask
CATALOG ID: ASIN005
MAKER: Unknown maker
CEREMONY: Somana Kunita Dance
AGE: 1960s-1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: red sandalwood
OTHER MATERIALS: canvas; adhesive; paint

Somana Kunita (sometimes spelled Kunitha) is a folk dance unique to the southern region of Karnataka, India, most commonly in Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, and Tumakur. The dance honors the local goddess, with red masks representing benevolent gods and yellow, white, or black masks representing fierce or malevolent gods. Each village has its own version of the masks.  Along with the mask (soma), the dancer wears an improvised skirt made from a saree for female characters, or tight pants for male characters, along with jewelry and a cane or bunch of peacock feathers. The mask includes a triangular or arched headdress (banka) made of cane and covered with colorful cloth, neem tree leaves, or flowers. The masqueraders dance to the music of drums, pipes, and flutes at village festivals, with songs about the mother-goddess intermittently sung during the performance.

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Tapuanu Mask

TITLE: Tapuanu Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Micronesia, Federated States of
SUBREGION: Nomoi (Mortlock) Islands
ETHNICITY: Micronesian
DESCRIPTION: Tapuanu Mask
CATALOG ID: OCFM002
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Soutapuana Society
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Protection; Secret Society
AGE: late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: breadfruit tree wood
OTHER MATERIALS: natural pigments (lime and coal)

The Micronesian islands are inhabited by an ethnic mix of Melanesian, Polynesian and Filipino peoples. The Nomoi Islands (formerly known as the Mortlock Islands) are a group of three large atolls in the Chuuk region of Micronesia: Satawan, Etal, and Lukunor. The Micronesian people have only a single kind of face mask, known as tapuanu, and created by the Soutapuana Society. The mask represents a protective ancestor spirit, and is danced in beachside and sacred house ceremonies to ward off typhoons that might harm the breadfruit tree, an important source of food for the inhabitants of the islands. The tapuanu can also frighten away ghosts that steal food.

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Torito Mask (Child’s)

TITLE: Torito Mask (Child’s)
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Guatemala
SUBREGION: Nahualá
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Child’s Torito (Little Bull) mask
CATALOG ID: LAGT041
MAKER: Unknown maker
CEREMONY: Baile del Torito
AGE: mid-twentieth century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; dyed cotton cloth

The Baile del Torito (Dance of the Little Bull) also called the Danza del Torito, 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 is accompanied by music from a marimba band.

The dance dates back to the 17th century. It tells the story of a cattle ranch in which the caporal or mayordomo (foreman) prohibits the vaqueros (cowboys) to interact with a bull like this one. The cowboys get the foreman drunk and perform bullfights. Eventually, a bull kills the foreman and the dance ends.

The dance frequently begins before sunrise and lasts for up to 12 hours. It may be performed for many days, sometimes over a week. Depending on the size of the town, there may be only one or several bulls and caporales, and up to 50 vaqueros. In some towns, such as Chichicastenango, there is both a white caporal and a black one. The costume of the vaquero is brightly colored and elaborate, with a hat sporting thick clusters of dyed ostrich feathers. In some towns, the vaquero carries a cape and maraca (rattle). The players of each character are chosen through Mayan rituals and are blessed by an Ai-lj (Mayan priest) before the dance.

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

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Rangda (Calonarang)

TITLE: Rangda (Calonarang)
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Rangda Ing Girah (Calonarang) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID015
MAKER: Ida Wayan Tangguh (Singapadu, 1935-2016)
CEREMONY: Barong Dance; Calonarang
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: gold-plated silver; glass; buffalo leather; paint; gold paint; horse hair

The Rangda Ing Girah (“Widow of Girah Village”) is a creature of ambiguous significance in Balinese religious traditions. In Bali, she is typically referred to as Calonarang, which is also the name of her performance. Technically, she is a child-eating demon and queen of the evil witches (leyak). In the Calonarang performance, she seeks vengeance when the King Erlangga refuses to wed her beautiful daughter, Ratna Manggali. She leads her army of apprentices against the forces of good, represented by the protective Barong and his allies. Her many witch-apprentices include Rarung, Lenda, Lendi, Gandi, Weksirsa, Jaran Guyang, and Mahesa Wedan.

She has many affinities to the destructive Hindu god Kali, worshiped in parts of India, but she also seems to be associated with the Javanese mythical witch, also called Calonarang. Nonetheless, the Rangda mask is a sacred object of worship and usually kept in a temple, with protective associations. Rangda masks are taken out to perform dances and ceremonies on major holidays, most notably the Kunti Sraya, or Barong Dance.

This specific Rangda was the last made by the master craftsman, I. Wayan Tangguh of Singapadu, a few years before he died.

For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).


Video of a Barong Ceremony in Bali, Indonesia, 2018.

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