Just before Halloween we chose images of tribal masks and figures to frighten ourselves in the spirit of the season:
The mask is an object worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods and have been as varied in appearance as in their use and symbolism.Masks have been designed in innumerable varieties, from the simplest of crude "False Faces" held by a handle to complete head coverings with ingenious movable parts and hidden faces. Among the substances utilized are woods, metals, shells, fibbers, ivory, clay, horn, stone, feathers, leather, furs, paper, cloth, and cornhusks. With few exceptions, the morphological elements of the mask derive from natural forms. Masks with human features are classified as anthropomorphic and those with animal characteristics as theriomorphic. Masks usually represent supernatural beings, ancestors, and fanciful or imagined figures, and can also be portraits
- Northwest Indian Mask by Paula
- Northwest Indian Totem Pole Figure by Dorothy
- Northwest Indian Mask by Christina
- Southwest Indian Kachina Figure by Pat
- Northwest Indian Figure by Cyndi
The mask is an object worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods and have been as varied in appearance as in their use and symbolism.Masks have been designed in innumerable varieties, from the simplest of crude "False Faces" held by a handle to complete head coverings with ingenious movable parts and hidden faces. Among the substances utilized are woods, metals, shells, fibbers, ivory, clay, horn, stone, feathers, leather, furs, paper, cloth, and cornhusks. With few exceptions, the morphological elements of the mask derive from natural forms. Masks with human features are classified as anthropomorphic and those with animal characteristics as theriomorphic. Masks usually represent supernatural beings, ancestors, and fanciful or imagined figures, and can also be portraits