Use Of Masks In Indian Culture
Kassim Bisaillon
Dressing up as a Native American is never appropriate. For years, classrooms across the country have included special days where students "dress up" as Native Americans for different celebrations and lesson activities. Often, the outfits people wear to look "Indian" have nothing to do with Native people and cultures. Native American cultures are vastly diverse and have a wide range of traditions that determine the clothing and adornment Native people wear. "Dressing up" as Native Americans gives students a generalized and inaccurate perspective on Native cultures and identities. Often, these costumes suggest that Native cultures exist only in the past. We promote lessons and activities that share the continuance and creativity of Native American life and cultures.
We ask that you and your students specifically refrain from making or wearing Native masks, headdresses, or imitations of either. We promote teaching about specific Native traditions without adapting them into your classroom. For example, in some Native communities, masks and headdresses are worn only by specific people who have particular abilities, have achieved a specific status, or possess certain cultural knowledge.
Today, many Native Americans wear traditional clothing for social and ceremonial occasions. In some Native cultures, people wear their traditional clothing every day. Traditional clothing, or regalia, is an important and lively aspect of Native cultures. Many Native American artists and designers integrate contemporary fashion and tradition to celebrate their unique and vibrant heritage. Today, Native identity is shaped by many complex social, political, historical, and cultural factors.
Sorting through my masks to prepare the last few posts, I collected an assortment of related material. I will draw from this collection for the present post and a few others over the coming weeks, while the previous related masks are still fresh in our minds. I will begin with a very attractive mystery mask that I bought from Spencer Throckmorton in 1996, along with with three carved wooden wands that would have been carried by the dancers. The mask was said to be from the Mexican state of Hidalgo, and came with no other information. I have never seen a mask exactly like this in any other collection or in any book, although it vaguely resembles the Carnival Moor masks in recent posts. Because I have seen Matachines dancers elsewhere who carried characteristic dance wands, I wondered if this mask had been worn by a Matachin dancer. Here is the mask.
The dance wands that accompanied this mask portray human figures that resemble the paper cutouts used by Otom healers in Hidalgo; these have been described by James Dow (1986). Therefore the history that this collection of objects is from Hidalgo seems credible.
There is a strong tendency for the elements on the two sides to be decorated in opposite colors. This reminds one of the division of colors on the face of the mask, leading to the use of opposite colors on the two halves of the face.
I should add that the ordinary Matachines dancers in most Mexican Indian cultures do not wear masks, although there are special roles where masks are customary, such as Abuelos (grandfathers) and Toritos (bulls). However, masks are worn by Matachines dancers in the area of the Huasteca.
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This object is from a rare group of early Brahmanical masks. The small fangs seen rising from the corners of the open mouth and the exposed upper teeth identify this deity as Bhairava, a wrathful form of Shiva. Such masks were employed as temporary fixtures during worship and used to enliven processional icons in the Brahmanical cultures of northwestern India and the territories of Gandhara in Pakistan.
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Throughout South India, masks are related to the presence of divine beings and, as such, induce transformation in the awareness of both performers and audience. Masked performance may also be powerfully linked to rituals of healing, which aim at freeing the self from states of blockage, isolation, and possession. Masking thus implies meta-psychological perspectives on the notions of self, face, and maturation and on the internal economy of the mind in cultures far removed from standard Western psychological paradigms. Despite being among the most colorful and visually compelling in the world, South Indian masks have never been studied as a set of related ritual and performance phenomena.Masked and Ritual and Performance in South India is the first scholarly volume to address the many traditions of masked performance in southern India. After several introductory essays on the phenomenon of masking in general, including the outline of a new analytic model for mask performance by D. Shulman, individual chapters of the volume address particular traditions, such as Hiranya Natakam and Kataikkuttu (Tamil Nadu), Teyyam, Krsnattam, and Mutiyettu (Kerala), and Sinhala exorcism rituals. Essays by Edwin Gerow and Wendy Doniger draw connections with classical Sanskrit materials on masking and disguise. Each of the chapters blends empirical data and theoretical insights; an integrative postlude by Don Handelman proposes a highly original typology of ritual forms that braid together frames and contents, as in many of the traditions studied here. Taken together, the essays offer an initial grammar of South Indian masking as the culture-specific formation of visible surfaces in which primary issues of identity, self-knowledge, and perception are brought into play.
David Shulman is Professor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.Deborah Thiagarajan is a historian of Indian art and the founder and director of Dakshina Chitra and the Madras Craft Foundation./di
At the beginning of the 14th century, during the Spanish conquest of North America, horses were introduced into the country and the Native American people quickly bonded with these powerful animals, adopting them into their lifestyle. Fast forward a few centuries later and by the 1800s, the livelihood of many Native American tribes, especially those on the Plains (such as Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Kiowa, Crow, Comanche, Cheyenne and Sioux), depended on the horse.
The tradition of masking horses in North America is said to be more than five centuries old. Not all tribes are associated with the practice of masking their horses, but some of the most well known tribes are those among the Plains and Plateau regions. With their innate sense of design and symbolism, the honour and value Native Americans gave to their horses was evident in the way they adorned them with woven blankets, beaded harnesses, painted symbols indicating ownership, bloodlines and accomplishments, and of course elaborately decorated masks. It is thought that the horse masks crafted by many Plains tribes were inspired by the Spanish Conquistadors and the protective metal plates of armour they placed over the faces of their horses.
Most Native horse masks were made from buffalo hide or trade cloth and decorated with beadwork, quills, metal bells, paint and feathers. So while they were not going to protect a horse physically, these masks did make the horses look intimidating on the battlefield. It is also believed the masks may have provided a spiritual protection, with each mask being decorated to imitate the power of the warrior.
As an Australian-owned business, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to their Elders past, present and future.
In some African cultures, a spirit inhabits a mask upon its creation. When a man (or, on rare occasions, a woman) puts on a mask and costume they give up their own being. The identity of the spirit takes over. Sometimes this spirit can be of another person, such as an ancestor. Other times the spirit is an animal or natural force.
The person who performs with a mask, called a masker, will undergo a physical change. The costume worn with a mask is just as important as the mask itself. A masker dresses in private and covers every inch of their body to conceal their identity. Costumes can be quite complex, made with hoops, padding, poles, and layers of fabric and raffia. Unfortunately, while many museums collect masks, very few costumes survive.
This Mwana Pwo (young woman) mask represents the female ancestor of the Chokwe people. It is always worn by a man who is disguised as a woman with a bodysuit, false breasts, and a skirt.Idea Three: Masks come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles.
Some masks take the shape of humans. These masks often have stylized features to represent ideal beauty and strength. Other masks take the form of powerful animals that are important to the community, such as an elephant, antelope, or hawk. Sometimes masks combine attributes from different animals or even combine human and animal features. When these features are brought together on a mask, the powers of each also are combined.
This Bamum mask symbolizes an ancestor and is worn at funerals and memorial celebrations. The masker places it on top of his head and wears a mesh veil to cover his face.
Many masquerades mark transitions within the cycle of life. When boys and girls mature from youth to adulthood, masquerades celebrate this life change and teach children how to be adults. Masquerades also play a large role in funeral ceremonies. To help the deceased enter the afterlife, masked spirits appear to honor ancestors, provide protection, and offer guidance.