Husk Face Society
The Husk Face Society is a cultural group known for its unique traditions and ceremonial roles, particularly during significant agricultural celebrations. Members, both men and women, create distinctive masks woven from cornhusks, which symbolize their connection to agricultural spirits. The society plays a vital part in the Midwinter Ceremony, where they take on the roles of clowns, often cross-dressing and reversing dance roles, contributing to the festive atmosphere and prophesying a bountiful corn harvest for the upcoming year.
During various ceremonies, such as the Green Corn Dance and the autumnal Thanksgiving Ceremony, Husk Faces also serve to dispel disease and act as "doorkeepers" for the False Face Society. Their masks feature openings that allow healers to perform traditional healing practices using hot coals. The skills and rituals of the Husk Face Society reflect a deep-rooted connection to agricultural cycles and community well-being, showcasing the importance of cultural identity and collective responsibility in their practices.
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Husk Face Society
Tribes affected: Iroquois tribes
Significance: Also called the Bushy Heads, the Husk Faces are medicine society among the Iroquois ministering to specific illnesses and conducting certain ritual functions
Husk Faces wear masks braided or woven from cornhusks. Paraphernalia also includes wooden hoes, shovels, and paddles for spreading or combing ashes. Membership in the Husk Face Society includes both men and women and comes as the result of dreaming of, or visioning, agricultural spirits, which ranking members of the society recognize. Husk Faces function in the Midwinter Ceremony in a key role as clowns. The female members dress as men and the men as women. They also reverse dance roles in the Midwinter Ceremony, and before departing they usually prophesy an abundant corn harvest for the coming year. Husk Faces herald the arrival of False Face Society members during the autumnal Thanksgiving Ceremony. Public appearances at the Green Corn Dance and other ceremonies include functioning to dispel disease. During False Face ceremonies, the Husk Faces act as “doorkeepers.” Husk Face masks include protruded mouth holes from which healers expel a curative blow on hot coals. Husk Face Society members seem to handle hot coals with ease.
Bibliography
Fenton, William N. The False Faces of the Iroquois. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.