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Lunar New Year Mask

TITLE: Lunar New Year Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: China
SUBREGION: Hong Kong
ETHNICITY: Han
DESCRIPTION: Young Girl “Big Head” Mask
CATALOG ID: ASCN005
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Lunar New Year
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: paper maché
OTHER MATERIALS: gesso; paint; cotton straps

The Chinese celebrate the lunar new year with lion dances, parades, and fireworks throughout the country.  Normally, the celebration begins on new year’s eve and lasts 15 days, and it provides an opportunity for entertainment, family reunion, honoring ancestors, and planning for the coming year. In the parade, armies of “big-headed Buddhas” clad in traditional silk costumes (or their modern polyester equivalents) follow the lion dancers.  They cavort for the entertainment of the audience and to bring good fortune in the coming year. Among these masqueraders are old man and old woman characters, such as the one represented by this mask. In modern Hong Kong, this is the largest festival of the year, and includes floats and decorations throughout the city.

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Barong Ket

TITLE: Barong Ket
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Barong Ket Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID018
MAKER: Ida Wayan Tangguh (Singapadu, 1935-2016)
CEREMONY: Barong Dance; Japatuan; Basur
AGE: 2012
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: glass rhinestones; mirrors; buffalo leather; paint; gilding; human hair; gold-plated silver ornaments; brass bells

Barong masks are some of the most important cultural artifacts in Bali.  The Barong is a mythical beast that purifies and protects the village. The mask itself is a sacred object of worship and usually kept in a temple. Barong masks are taken out to perform dances and ceremonies on major holidays, most notably the Kunti Sraya, or Barong Dance. That dance recreates a contest between good (represented by the Barong and its followers) and evil (represented by the goddess of death, Rangda, and her followers).

Barongs come in many types, depending on the type of animal represented.  Barongs may take the form of a boar, bull or deer, for example. This mask, the barong ket, represents a mythical beast combining attributes of the tiger, ox, and some unique attributes. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as a lion (there are no wild lions in Indonesia, and never have been any, so the Balinese would not have been able to use one as a template for their masks). The ket is the chief of all barongs and acts as a potent protector against the harmful influence of ghosts on the village.

This specific barong ket was the last one made by the master craftsman, I. Wayan Tangguh of Singapadu, 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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Ekoi Antelope Mask

TITLE: Ekoi Antelope Mask
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Nigeria
ETHNICITY: Ekoi
DESCRIPTION: Antelope Helmet Mask
CATALOG ID: AFNG013
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Obassinjom Society
FUNCTION: Protection/Purification; Secret Society
AGE: 1990s
MAIN MATERIALS: wood; antelope leather
OTHER MATERIALS: pigment; brass tacks; cane; jute rope; kaolin clay

The Ekoi people, also known as the Ejagham, inhabit the extreme southeastern region of Nigeria and parts of Cameroon. They are a hunting and farming people who live in scattered communities. Each community has a Ngbe or Ekpo (Leopard) Society that helps coordinate political and social events.

Most Ekoi masks take the form of a helmet or crest that sits atop the head. Unlike the masks of other African peoples, Ekoi masks are covered in leather. In the distant past, the skin of killed slaves was used, but now antelope leather is common. Animal masks such as these are used by the Obassinjom Society, dedicated to detecting and combating witchcraft and sorcery. The mask is fixed to the dancer’s head, adorned with feathers, and danced in a long, blue cloak adorned with magical charms.

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Asmat Bi Mask

TITLE: Asmat Bi Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Oceania
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Papua Province
ETHNICITY: Melanesian (Asmat)
DESCRIPTION: Bi (Orphan) Mask
CATALOG ID: OCID006
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Feast
FUNCTION: funeral; spirit invocation
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: wicker
OTHER MATERIALS: rattan; sago leaf fiber; natural pigments

The Asmat people are a Melanesian ethnic group inhabiting the Papua Province of Indonesia, along the southwestern coast. They are thought to number around 70,000 individuals.  The Asmat celebrate a periodic feast, a series of rituals culminating when dead ancestors, personified by performers wearing full-length body masks like this one (Det), return to visit the village.

The rites involve two types of masks. The first is this one, a single conical mask depicting a legendary orphan (Bi), appears to entertain the audience with comical antics. The second type of mask, the Det, portrays the dead ancestor. At the climax of the ceremony, the masked performers representing the dead emerge from the forest and tour the village, where they are offered food and hospitality. They eventually arrive in front of the men’s ceremonial house, where the dead and the living join in a dance, which continues long into the night. The following morning the dead, now properly fed and entertained or frightened by threats of violence, return to the realm of their ancestors (Safan).

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Topeng Patih Keras

TITLE: Topeng Patih Keras
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Patih Keras (Arya Sentan) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASID006
MAKER: Ida Wayan Muka, Mas Ubud (1971- )
CEREMONY: Topeng Dance Drama
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: colored glass rhinestones; goat leather and hair; gold-plated silver ornaments; mother of pearl; paint; string; rubber band

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 a character known as Patih Keras or Arya Sentan. Patih Keras is a strong, high ranking court official, usually an aristocratic warrior or assistant to the king. He may appear in an introductory dance after the Patih Manis (prime minister).  The mask was carved and painted by the master craftsman I. Wayan Muka.

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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Mardi Gras Green Man

TITLE: Mardi Gras Green Man
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
SUB-REGION: New Orleans, Louisiana
ETHNICITY: Mixed
DESCRIPTION: Green Man Mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS067
MAKER: Lawrence D. Wood (Crownsville, Maryland, 1950- )
CEREMONY: Mardi Gras; fantasy
AGE: 2010
MAIN MATERIAL: leather
OTHER MATERIALS: acrylic paint; string

In Catholic practice, Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) is the last day of celebration of Carnival before the fasting period of Lent. In the United States, the holiday is nowhere more vigorously celebrated than in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, a two-week Carnival season terminating on Mardi Gras is celebrated with parades composed of elaborate costumes and masks, floats, marching bands, all organize by private “krewes” composed of public-spirited citizens dedicated to preserving the Mardi Gras tradition. Krewes tend to have a fairly constant structure of officers, who frequently ride horseback in handsome costumes and white draped masks, float riders who chuck “throws,” or small gifts such as plastic beaded necklaces, toys, or mementos (usually with the krewe’s name and insignia) into the cheering crowds, and a guest “king” and “queen” of the krewe.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is also typically celebrated with formal balls held by the krewes in honor of the king and queen, and to celebrate the season.  Mask wearing among street celebrants is common as well. Traditionally, Mardi Gras masks are made of formed and painted leather, and can represent any character from real life or fantasy.  In modern practice, cheap masks mass manufactured of sequined cloth or paper maché covered in dyed feathers have become common.

This specific mask was hand made by a skilled artisan from Maryland for Renaissance festivals and New Orleans Mardi Gras. It represents a “green man,” a representation of a natural animistic deity common portrayed throughout European history and especially in Celtic motifs.


Click above to watch a short documentary about Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2019 and 2020.

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Diablo Cojuelo Mask and Costume

TITLE: Diablo Cojuelo Mask and Costume
TYPE: face mask; costume; accessory
GENERAL REGION: Caribbean
COUNTRY: Dominican Republic
SUBREGION: La Vega
ETHNICITY: Afro-Latino
DESCRIPTION: Diablo Cojuelo Carnival mask and costume
CATALOG ID: CADO003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Carnival; Dominican Independence Day
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: fiberglass
OTHER MATERIALS: gesso; paint; synthetic hair; metal accessories; glue; glitter; wire mesh; foam rubber padding; elastic straps; plastic rhinestones; plastic ornaments

During the carnival of the Dominican Republic, which actually falls on the Dominican Independence Day rather than the Catholic Mardi Gras, paraders don elaborate masks and costumes to represent devils, monsters, clowns, and other characters.  Different towns have different traditional masks.  In La Vega, a very large parade involving hundreds of masked marchers takes place every year, prominently featuring characters known as the diablo cojuelo, or “tormenting devil.”  These devils carry inflated bladders on a rope (formerly goat bladders, but today mostly rubber) that they use to strike audience members, preferably young women, on the buttocks.  The ritual thereby serves the dual function of providing a release for young male testosterone and reminding the audience of the torments awaiting in Hell.

Traditionally, such masks were made of paper maché, but in modern times they have been increasingly made of fiberglass molded around a sculpted model.  This allows crews of paraders to wear similar masks as a group without the need sculpt each mask individually.  Even so, tremendous work goes into the molding, preparation, painting, and adornment of each mask. Frequently the costumes require months of hand-stitching as well.

Click here to watch a short documentary on the Carnival of the Dominican Republic.

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Aya Huma

TITLE: Aya Huma
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Ecuador
SUBREGION: Tabacundo
ETHNICITY: Quechua
DESCRIPTION: Green Aya Huma (Diablo Umo) mask
CATALOG ID: LAEC010
MAKER: Unknown maker in Tabacundo
CEREMONY: Inti Raymi
AGE: 1981
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed thread; cotton wadding

In Ecuador and Peru, the winter solstice is sometimes still celebrated by honoring the Incan sun god, Inti.  Some mistakenly consider this a summer solstice ceremony, apparently forgetting that, except in Colombia and the northern tip of Ecuador, the Andes are south of the Equator.   Inti Raymi takes place annually on June 24 and recreates the Incan ceremonies of the period.

Among the regalia worn during the celebration is the Aya Huma mask and suit, sometimes known as Diablo Umo. The Aya Huma carries a whip to drive away evil spirits during the ceremony. His mask is double-sided so that he cannot be surprised by evil spirits from behind. The rather symmetrical ears and noses represent the four cardinal points.  Although traditionally representing a protector spirit, Catholic zealots among the colonizers branded the masquerader satanic, whence comes the name Diablo Umo (Devil Head).

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Dan Gunye Ge Mask

TITLE: Dan Gunye Ge Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire
ETHNICITY: Dan
DESCRIPTION: Gunye Ge (Racing) Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Entertainment; Spirit Invocation
AGE: Late 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: burlap; cowrie shells; raffia fiber; iron bells; cotton batting; stitching; kaolin clay

The Dan people are a large ethnic group inhabiting Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. One important tradition among the Dan is the weekly foot race, held in the dry season. Racers wear masks like this one (gunye ge) to invoke bush spirits that will speed them along. Typically, a masked racer will chase an unmasked one and, if he catches him, gets to keep the mask. If not, the bush spirit did not favor him, and he must unmasked.  The unmasked runner, in turn, puts on his own mask and chases another unmasked competitor. The runner with the most wins at the end of the dry season is declared the victor.

For more on Dan masks, see Eberhard Fischer, Dan Forest Spirits: Masks in Dan Villages, AFRICAN ARTS, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 16-23 (1978).

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Oddfellows Mask

TITLE: Oddfellows Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: United Kingdom (England)
SUBREGION: N/A
ETHNICITY: English
DESCRIPTION: Oddfellows Ceremonial Mask
CATALOG ID: EUGB001
MAKER: Unknown
FUNCTiON: Secret Society
AGE: early twentieth century
MAIN MATERIAL: wire mesh
OTHER MATERIALS: copper strips; paint

The Oddfellows is a British secret society, founded in 1730 in London as a fraternal order and eventually spreading to the United States as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Oddfellows promote philanthropy and sponsor recreational events for their members. The initiation rituals of the society feature elaborate scripted ceremonies with masks, costumes, and props. The precise use of this mask is unknown, however.

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