Noh Ko-Jō

TITLE: Noh Ko-Jō
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Ko-Jō Kyo-Kei (Old Man) Mask
MAKER: Takiyama Ichiemon (Iso Tanba City, Hyogo, Japan, 1940- ) and Ohoshima Jyunji (Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto, Japan, 1930- )
CATALOG ID: ASJP016
CEREMONY: Noh Drama
AGE: 2011
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; horse hair; acrylic string

The Noh theater evolved from a combination of Chinese Nuo opera, popular village entertainment known as Sarugaku, and courtly Bugaku dance to become a uniquely Japanese form of high culture. Noh, or Nōgaku, probably first emerged as a distinct form of theater in the 14th century.  A wide variety of plays developed over the ensuing three hundred or so years, with masked characters playing an important role in most.  The masks require the actors to communicate through posture, body movement, and vocal control, whose perfection requires years of intense training.  Although the masks prevent the actor from using facial expression, the most expertly carved masks can be made to express different emotions at different angles, so that he actor can change facial expression by the tilting his head.

This mask is known as Ko-Jō (or Ko-Jyo) and is a kind of Jō-Kei (old man mask) created by the famed carver Koushi Kiyomitsu in the late 14th century. This specimen was acquired from Inoue Corporation of Kyoto.

For more on Noh masks, see the excellent book by Michishige Udaka and Shuichi Yamagata, The Secrets of Noh Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International , 2010).


To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.

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Fasnet Teufel Mask

TITLE: Fasnet Teufel Mask
TYPE: hood mask
GENERAL REGION: Europe
COUNTRY: Germany
SUBREGION: Swabia
ETHNICITY: Swabian
DESCRIPTION: Teufel (Devil) Mask
CATALOG ID: EUDE006
MAKER: Uwe Thaler (Altensteig, 1964- )
CEREMONY: Fasnet (Carnival)
AGE: 2006
MAIN MATERIAL: cedar wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; lacquer; goat leather and fur; fox tail; LED lights and hardware

In many parts of Swabia and Bavaria, Carnival (usually called Fasnet or Fastnet in this region of Germany) is celebrated with parades of witches, devils, and clowns.  The devil parades are organized by guilds, all members of which wear similar costumes and masks.  Each town has its own guilds. Their purpose is to usher in the spring with joy and laughter and frighten away the winter.

This specific mask was used in Ehningen by the Würmdal-Deifels Guild from 2006 until 2012.

Regrettably, the best texts on Carnival in Bavaria and Swabia are still available in German only: Heinz Wintermantel’s Hoorig, hoorig isch die Katz (Würzburg: Konrad Theiss, 1978) and Dick Eckert’s Die Werdenfelser Fasnacht und ihre Larven (Volk Verlag München, 2015).

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Senufo Kpelie

TITLE: Senufo Kpelie
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
ETHNICITY: Senufo
DESCRIPTION: Kpelie Mask
CATALOG ID: AFCI015
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Agriculture; Celebration; Funeral
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: ebony wood
OTHER MATERIALS: n/a

The Senufo people and reside primarily in Côte d’Ivoire, with some also living in Burkina Faso and Mali. The kpelie mask is used by men’s societies for the initiation of boys into adulthood, in funerals of important villagers, and in harvest festivals celebrating and giving thanks to the gods for a bountiful harvest.

The kpelie is always worn by men, but it combines the features of an ideal woman and an animal, such as an antelope, ram, or hornbill (as here), along with fertility symbols, such as palm nuts. The scarification marks represent the Senufo ideal of female beauty. The two appendages that always extend downward from the mask represent symbolic legs that tether the spirit to the earth.  The figure on the head, whether it is an animal, ancestor, or symbol, depend on the caste group to which ancestor represented by the mask belonged. The hornbill, for example, is linked to metal smiths.

The masquerader will dance to traditional music and singing while holding an iron staff or a horsetail whisk and wearing a robe composed of knotted diamonds (the shape believed symbolic of the cycle of life) and a long raffia fiber collar and cuffs to disguise the hands.

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Tourist Mask

TITLE: Tourist Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Tourist (Turista) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX147
MAKER: Antonio Vázquez Tepo (Xico, 1933-2017)
CEREMONY: Carnival; Santo Entierro de Cristo
AGE: 2016
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint

Santo Entierro de Cristo (“Sacred Burial of Christ”) is an important festival in parts of Veracruz, particularly in the region of Teocelo, and is celebrated on the last Sunday in January. During the festival, clowns wearing red-nosed masks, animals, devils, and other characters dance to drum and trumpet music along a parade route, clicking castanets, and accompanying an image of the burial of Jesus of Nazareth. The route proceeds from the local church to a large floral arch dubbed El Calvario, where mass is held. The procession is accompanied by drums and trumpets. Sometimes other masked characters, such as animals, tourists, and cartoon characters accompany the parade.  Such masks are also worn at other celebrations, most prominently Carnival and the Asunción (“Assumption,” referring to Jesus’ mother Mary passing into Heaven), held on August 15th.

This mask pokes good-natured fun at tourists who visit Teocelo to watch the celebration.

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Moor Mask

TITLE: Moor Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Puebla
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: White, black and red “cardface” Moor mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX157
MAKER: Pedro Sol Sánchez (Tuzamapán de Galeana, 1945- )
CEREMONY: Danza de los Moros y Cristianos
AGE: 2017
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; hardware

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 widely in Mexico, including in Mexico State, Michoacán, Puebla, and Veracruz. Important characters include Spaniards, Moors, saints, angels, and devils. This Moro takes a form typical only in the village of Tuzamapan and is commonly known as an “enamorado” (lover) or “card face” Moor, because the makers there often include symbols from playing cards (hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs). More recently, designs like this one have been inspired by the masks used in the popular lucha libre (wrestling).

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Pilato Mask

TITLE: Pilato Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Veracruz
ETHNICITY: Nahua
DESCRIPTION: Pilato (Moor) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX176
MAKER: Lino Mora Rivera (Naolinco de Victoria, 1956- )
CEREMONY: Fiesta de San Mateo (Danza de los Pilatos)
AGE: 2013
MAIN MATERIAL: equimite wood
OTHER MATERIALS: oil-based paint; string

The Danza de los Pilatos, also called La Danza de los Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), is an important celebration in the Mexican state of Veracruz. 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, and Veracruz. Characters vary depending on locality, although they always include “Christians” or “Spaniards” and Moors. In Naolinco, Veracruz, the dance is performed on the holiday of the town patron saint, St. Matthew (Fiesta de San Mateo), celebrated on Sept. 20-21 every year.  There, Moors take many forms, including devils, pirates, clowns, or, as here, skeletons. This mask represents a Moor in his original form but no longer popular, with a human face. It was carved by the master craftsman, Lino Mora Rivera and used by him and his family for several years.  The scratches result from blows by wooden swords, inflicted by the santiagos during mock battles between the Christians and Moors.

For more on masks from Veracruz, see Bryan J. Stevens, Mexican Masks and Puppets: Master Carvers of the Sierra de Puebla (Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Pub’g, 2012).


A brief video with highlights of the Danza de los Moros y Cristianos from Naolinco’s 2018 Fiesta de San Mateo.

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Chivo Mask

TITLE: Chivo Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Hidalgo
ETHNICITY: Otomi
DESCRIPTION: Chivo (Goat) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX031
MAKER: Unknown maker in San Bartolo Tutotepec
CEREMONY: Carnaval de Chivos
AGE: 1950s
MAIN MATERIAL: hardwood
OTHER MATERIALS: goat horns; goat leather & hair; paint; glitter; glue; iron nails; wire; dyed polyester ribbons; brass bells

The chivo, or goat, is a popular Carnival character in the villages of El Nante and San Bartolo Tutotepec, Hidalgo. Nearly all chivo masks have the same comical and half-sinister expression, twisted nose, lined face, and goat horns pointed upward. The horns are decorated with wires holding ribbons, bells, and tassels (in this case, partially restored later). Older masks like this one are painted with subdued colors, while newer masks tend to be brighter. At some point, the owner of this mask glued glitter to the outside, which over time flaked off.

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Chokwe Cikunza Mask

TITLE: Chokwe Cikunza
TYPE: helmet mask
GENERAL REGION: Africa
COUNTRY: Zambia
ETHNICITY: Chokwe
DESCRIPTION: Cikunza Mask for the Makishi Dance
CATALOG ID: AFZM001
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Adult Initiation; Hunting; Secret Society
AGE: ca. 1990s
MAIN MATERIAL: burlap
OTHER MATERIALS: wood; pigments; string

The populous Chokwe people of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia are known as some of the most skilled wood carvers in Africa. They resisted colonization far longer than most peoples of the region, despite repeated incursions by the Portuguese and other Europeans.

The Chokwe use masks in many contexts. The makishi (dead) dance is performed at the end of adult initiation rituals for boys, called mukanda, primarily in Zambia. The cikunza mask represents an ancestor and is worn by an older man to teach boys the knowledge they will need as men, particularly relating to hunting and sexual relationships. Unlike most African masked dancers, the cikunza does not wear a raffia fiber suit, but instead paints his body in bright geometric patterns.  After the boys are circumcised, the newly minted adults remove the masks from their relatives and swear an oath to maintain the secrets of their identities.

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China Morena

TITLE: China Morena Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Bolivia
SUBREGION: Oruro
ETHNICITY: Quechua and Aymara
DESCRIPTION: China Morena (“Brunette Woman”) mask
CATALOG ID: LABO020
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Carnival (La Morenada)
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: tin
OTHER MATERIALS: polyester fiber; paint

The Morenada (Dance of the Moors) is an annual ceremony in several towns in the Altiplano region of Bolivia, Peru, and northern Chile, usually incorporated into Carnival.  The dance includes both male and female Moors dancing in a group with whips, rattles, or scepters. A King of the Moors (Rey de Morenos) presides and coordinates the dance. The dance typically occurs in the course of a parade, with marching bands playing musical scores for the dancers.  The precise origins of the Morenada are the subject of debate, with most specialists concluding that the dance was inspired by African slaves brought to Bolivia to work the mines or the subsequent integration of Africans into the Yungas community near La Paz.  The morena wears a fancy version of the traditional Bolivian costume with the classic bowler hat.

This mask represents a china morena, or brunette woman, made in the 1980s from recycled tin. The actual dancer wearing the mask may be female or a male in drag.

For more on Bolivian masquerade, see Peter McFarren ed., Masks of the Bolivian Andes (La Paz: Editorial Quipus/Banco Mercantil SA, 1993).

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Ermitaño Mask

TITLE: Hermit Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Latin America
COUNTRY: Mexico
SUBREGION: Michoacán
ETHNICITY: Purépecha
DESCRIPTION: Ermitaño (Hermit) Mask
CATALOG ID: LAMX067
MAKER:  Unknown
CEREMONY: Pastorela
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; maque; cotton straps

The Pastorela is the ceremonial dance drama of Michoacán state in Mexico. Pastorelas, performed in February during the Shrovetide season, are primarily religious in significance. The main characters of the Dance of the Shepherds are the Devil and his minions, the Archangel Michael, shepherds, and a hermit (who paradoxically represents the ancestors of the performers).  The drama revolves around the attempts of Lucifer and his demon minions to steal the baby Jesus.  Other dramas performed on the occasion include the Dance of the Negritos (dance of the little blacks), relating to the importation of African slaves into Mexico by the Spaniards, and which includes an army of elegantly dressed “little Maries” (Maringuillas), and feos, or ugly clowns.  This mask represents a hermit (ermitaño), who traditionally has a golden beard.

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