TITLE: Payaso Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Chiapas
ETHNICITY: Mayan
DESCRIPTION: Leather payaso (clown) mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX006
MAKER: Unknown maker in Huistán
CEREMONY: Carnival
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed cloth; metal grommets; ixtle fiber; plastic beads; brass bells; thread; string; pigment
Two types of clown participate in the Carnival of Huistán, Chiapas. One wears white body paint and scarves over the face, and the other wears a distinctive leather mask like this one. Both carry stalks of corn, suggesting the pre-Christian origin of the celebration in Mayan prayers for a bountiful harvest.
