Masks from African, Bulgarian, Native American, and Mexican tradition
African Masks
Mexican Masks
These are from the collection at the Arizona State Museum
Since my mentee Jeimy is from Mexico, I started looking for Mexican masks, and found a wonderful variety online.
Mexican tiger masks ("El tigre")
From RandAfricanArt.com:
This style of Tigre (Mexican colloquial for Jaguar) mask is from Zitlala, Guerrero, they are used on the feast day of the Holy Cross on May 3rd, 4th,
and 5th. As part of the activities, men from different barrios put on jaguar costumes and carry out fierce fighting competitions that involve beating
each other over the head with knotted rope. Although this is very rugged for the participants, the fighting is considered a crucial aspect in petitioning
the deities for rain during the spring planting season. The impressive masks are made in leather and worn over the head to protect the wearer from
injury. The leather is painted green or yellow, depending on which barrio of town the participant is from.
The celebration of the Holy Cross is a ceremony during which offerings of pain are propitiated. Mountain, roadside and village crosses are adorned
with flowers and various offerings of fruit, bread, poultry, and more. Although this celebration is based in Christianity, the tradition of leaving offerings
in return for miracles or blessings from the god(s) has its roots in pre-hispanic times. In Guerrero, this festival is closely tied to Tlaloc, the rain god.
An important part of the festival in Acatlán centers around the Ahuehuete tree, a sacred tree because anywhere this tree grows water will be found.
The Nahua Guerrerense honor the tree and its spring with a procession and a variety of offerings. Here, the jaguar known as the Tecuane appears.
More tiger masks from Zitlala, Guerrero, Mexico
I'm building one of these so I'm starting a picture collection.
These fabulous heads are usually made of leather. There is mirror at the bottom of the eye rings and the hairs are boar's bristles.
Native American masks
Some masks from Native American tribes
Are you feeling ambitious? Try a giant elephant!
Bulgarian mummers' masks
Bulgaria's Kukeri Mummers (part one)
On New Year's Eve in Bulgaria the Mummer's games are performed, by men only. They put on special masks hand-made by each of the participants.Most of the masks are made wood. Different colored yarn, multicolored fabrics, mirrors and other shiny are sewn on.
The impact that the masked mummers make gets even bigger by the sound of the copper and bronze bells that hang on them.
Some of the masks have two faces, one good-humored, the other ominous.
The mummers aim to sweep away the evil spirits and the weird sisters via magic dances and scary masks, so next year's crops will be rich.
The masks show great craftsmanship and fantasy. They are carefully saved and are refreshed each year.
There are men called "dividzhii" dressed in coats with the firry side turned inside out. They have leather belts around their waists with bells on it. They put a mask on their heads. The mask is made of frieze decorated with colorful threads, ribbons and laces. They have a wooden sword in one of their hands and a mace in the other. In the past only unmarried men were allowed to take part in the ritual, but nowadays married men can participate as well.
The masks gives them the opportunity to do things that otherwise might seem inappropriate. The masked men jump, jingle with the bells, roll on the ground, sharpen their swords with the frieze and make jokes. They rock and fall on the ground to represent the weight of the ears of corn. They roll on the ground to gain power from it so that they are healthy. The jingle of the bells chases away all the bad things. The bells are always used in different rituals in all cultures as protection from magic.
Bulgarian Kukeri Mummers (part two)
"In the night before St. Vassil's day the troop goes from house to house making jokes with the hosts. They receive money and bread.During the visits whenever they meat people on the streets, strangers or people gathered for the show the mummers make comic and even cynical jokes and play different games.
The spectacles joke and tease them all well. The parade is noisy and funny. The games are full of joy, conflicts, different costumes and persons, comical plays and improvisations.
It is a real national celebration full of freshness, humor, satire, a theatre in the open in which both the spectacles and the people making the games are performers. Laughter has special magical powers so people laugh to influence the flora and fauna.
Quite often the function of magic is full of theatrical elements. That is why a lot of researchers think that the mask games are in the beginning of theatre itself."
A Czech giant puppet...
A giant puppet from Ireland...
Some helpful sites
- Rand African Art
Says African, but has lots of info about Mexican masks, some of which I quoted above.
A very stout helmet, the mask actually served as armour during the early May fiestas when the dancers beat each other over the head with knotted rope. Customarily, they have deepset mirror eyes...- Mexican Masks
In pre-Columbian latin america the use of masks dates back some 3,500 years. Priests summoned the Gods by donning masks and they were used in sacrificial rituals. The "shock and awe" effect of the masks was used with great success by these ancient priests.
The introduction of the Spanish in the 1600's saw the use of masks change in the hispanic culture. The Spanish used masks in the effort to spread Christianity, borrowing the powerful cultural icon for their use. The church used the masks in dramatic presentations of the stories of the bible and to intimidate the natives by portraying reenactments of battles.
- Masks of the World
An on-line gallery for mask collectors and folk art lovers featuring tribal masks from Africa, India, the Himalayas, Asia, China, Korea, Java, Bali, New Guinea, Northwest Coast America, Mexico, Guatemala, the Caribbean, and Native America.
- Behind the Masks (Bulgarian mummers)
All the mummers meet up in the morning and start the village round from house to house, where the hosts greet them with wine and nibbles. To the sounds of an ancient rhythmic trance and the many bells, the band performs a ritual dance. The mummers' heavy slow movements and loud shouts are meant to wipe out all evil spirits in the village and bring good health and a good crop to all.
Traditionally, a 'bride' is kept hidden in one of the houses. Men play all parts in the ritual, the 'bride', too, is a young lad; the 'groom' has the task to win 'her' over and take her away. Later on, the 'priest', another leading character, performs the marriage ceremony in the village square. Folklorists interpret this wedding as a symbol of male-female unity for prosperity and good fortune.
Other creepy puppets and masks
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Punch and Judy
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I decided to create some Punch pages because I love the song John Pole wrote about the show. Bob Vasile and I sang it on our recent album We Did It! Songs of People Behaving Badly." You can hear our version, and read Pole's lyrics, below. Pole is, hi...
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Michel Nedjar and his Purim Puppets
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While I was in Paris I saw the exhibit of Michel Nedjar's "Poupées pourim" (Purim puppets) and was dazzled. It's impossible to capture in pictures the exquisite, powerful intricacy of Nedjar's work. The colors, textures, shapes, and weird int...
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Make your own Punch & Judy puppets
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I developed an interest in Punch &Judy after recording John Pole's song by the same name. I love making masks and puppets and I plan to make a Punch, a Judy, and a Baby for the Pratie Heads (me and Bob) to cart to gigs when we plan to perform...
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Make your own Handmade Parade with giant puppets
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I just attended the first of two workshops in making your own giant puppets for hand-made parades. It was hosted by the Hillsborough Arts Council, which says the information may be freely shared but not sold or disseminated for profit. October 17 is...
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Bread and Puppet Circus: subversive, gorgeous "cheap art"
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I first encountered the Bread and Puppet folks because I was singing Sacred Harp music with members of the Word of Mouth Chorus, also based in Vermont; the two groups were somewhat enmeshed. I was entranced by the swaying, ghostly figures - far more,...
This lens is part of Chapel Hill Fiddler's Puppets & Masks CollectionPunch and Judy • How to Make your Own Punch & Judy Dolls • Casting a plaster mold to make a paper mache head • Punch & Judy show: the other characters • Bread and Puppet Circus • How to Make a Handmade Parade • Adult Puppet Theater • Make a La Llorona paper mache mask • Scary Masks from Afar • How to make a giant puppet and an El Tigre head • The giant head masks of Jane Filer • Make a space alien head from papier mache • Creep masks for Halloween inspiration • See all the puppet lenses at once • The scary recycled puppets of artist Michel Nedjar
What do you think?
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Reply
- Garrett Garrett Oct 15, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
- great masks
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- kimmanleyort kimmanleyort Sep 13, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
- Really great photos!
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- Laniann Laniann Sep 10, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
- What a beautiful lens! And very interesting. 5*
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- a_willow a_willow Sep 7, 2009 @ 10:50 am
- WoW! Love these pictures - masks are stunning!
Some of my other lenses
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More telenovela fun!
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I asked our readers at Caray, Caray! (the blog written in English for fans of novelas) to share what they love about the novelas and I got so many fabulous responses they overflowed my first lens. So here is another! I hope this gets you in the mood...
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My donkey Jethro
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Nobody believes it when I say I have a pet donkey. Donkeys are rare and unpopular pets, at least where I live (Chapel Hill, North Carolina). I haven't seen another donkey closer than 45 minutes away. Jethro has not seen another donkey since he ca...
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I've been a Pratie Head for many's the long year... (Celtic Music)
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I'd been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, singing Balkan music with the acappella women's ensemble Laduvane,and singing American folksongs in a band called "Rank Strangers." In 1981 I married and my husband moved us to Chapel Hill, NC. This lens i...
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Let Memory Keep Us All: a songbook, and a remembrance
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This is a picture of Mitzi, Mona, and Sandy at the Medieval Fair at the Castle McCullough in Jamestown, NC, back in the 1990s, wearing nice outfits we sewed out of cloth we dyed ourselves. There were usually about sixteen people in the Solstice Asse...
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North Carolina wedding musicians: live music is best!
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My two bands play for weddings in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and people always love the live music. But I see, because my daughter is getting married next year and sends me links to various wedding blogs, that tips for economizing...
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by ChapelHillFiddler
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