Masks in Native American culture

Tribes affected: Aleut, Bella Coola, Cherokee, Eskimo, Haida, Iroquois tribes, Kwakiutl, Lenni Lenape, Makah, Maya, Naskapi, Navajo, Nootka, Plains tribes, Pueblo tribes, Salish, Seneca, Tlingit, Tsimshian, others

Significance: Masks have been used by many American Indian tribes since prehistoric times for ceremonial, social, and religious purposes, allowing access to and control of the spiritual world

The making and wearing of masks was an art form that served religious, social, and artistic purposes for American Indians. Putting on a “false face” could provide protection or disguise, be used as a vehicle for contact with supernatural powers, or enhance the role of storytelling.

Types of Masks

The simplest way of wearing a mask was to paint the face. This allowed the wearer to present a different persona easily by changing the color of the face and by emphasizing certain features. By painting the face, a transformation of personality took place, giving the wearer a different outlook and the ability to affect the impression and response of others.

In the prehistoric times, masks were used to control the spiritual world and for magical purposes. By putting on a false face it was believed that one could engage the power of the surrounding spirits, who, being good or evil, had an impact on one’s life. Masks were considered holy and sacred objects in themselves as they had the power to transform the wearer into the representative spirit. Very often they were used in ritual dances to exorcise evil or invoke blessing. Masks made the powers visible, and the wearer could become one with the spiritual power. Some Native Americans believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors returned in a mask.

Ceremonial use included such occasions as initiations, war dances, and fertility rites. Storytelling and dramatization of symbolic legends made use of masks and provided entertainment. In the Southwest cultural area masks were used to invoke spirits to help in providing rain, and in the Northwest masks were related to the clan totem, the spirit protector of the clan.

Masks were made of wood, animal hides, and plant fibers in North America and of wood, metals, stone, and clay in Central and South America. Which material was used depended upon the region and its natural resources and the degree of development in the use of masks, which varied from tribe to tribe.

Regional Examples

The Northwest Coast cultural area had perhaps the greatest development in the quality and use of masks. They were used in curing ceremonies and midwinter performances of dramatized myths and legends in song and dance. The masks were made by carvers (who were held in high esteem by the community) of wood, generally cedar, and were colorfully and boldly painted, with dark green being a favorite color. The Kwakiutl made highly expressive, complex masks with moveable parts such as beaks. Masks were often in the form of a human face, or the head of a bird, animal, or spirit, all having supernatural power. Clan masks represented the clan totem. A shaman wearing a mask could be transformed into the animal or spirit represented by the mask. Sometimes masks were double-layered, representing the duality of the inner human spiritual form and the outer animal form.

Eskimos (Inuits) used masks in acting out cosmic dramas. Their masks displayed animal features representing a host of beings and phenomena. Some masks were hinged; others were made of fur. They also made large wooden masks to represent and honor the dead; they were left unpainted and bore solemn expressions.

In the Southwest, Pueblo Indians made simple head coverings of animal hides that were painted and decorated with feathers, cloth, herbs, and carved wooden beaks. Rounded heads represented the male, and square heads represented the female; the respective shapes could also represent deities or lesser spirits.

Masks were sacred to the Pueblos, who did not allow exact photographic reproductions of them. The wearer had to be purified before wearing a mask, and masks were ceremonially sanctified with sacred pollen or corn meal before being stored in the kiva. Most Pueblo masks represented spirits, with a few representing animals. The kachina dancer portrayed the spirit of a deceased clan member who lived in the underworld and was called upon for aid in assuring rain and good crops.

In the Eastern Woodlands region, masks were used to drive away evil spirits. Wooden masks were worn only by men, but Husk Faces, made of bands of braided corn husks, were worn by both men and women. The Iroquois made masks for False Face Ceremonies to exorcise demons. These masks had distorted features, long hair, and deeply set eyes, and they were painted in red and/or black. The Iroquois also made buffalo-head masks that were used in the Buffalo Dance. The Cherokee made masks for hunting, as aids to help them get close to game animals. Their masks boldly emphasized the distinctive features of animals, such as the eyes, ears, nose, or antlers. The Living Solid Face mask of the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) was considered a helpful spirit and guide as well as a living mask.

In Mesoamerica, mask making was a complex art form in which masks were used to record the history, religion, and aesthetics of the people. Made of a wide variety of materials, masks were symbolic expressions of beliefs and were worn at ritual dances.

Masks made by American Indians today are still used for ceremonial purposes. Among some tribes, masks are also made for commercial purposes.

Bibliography

Conn, Richard. Native American Art in the Denver Art Museum. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 1979.

Cordry, Donald. Mexican Masks. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1980.

Furst, Peter T., and Jill L. Furst. North American Indian Art. New York: Rizzoli International, 1982.

LaFarge, Oliver, et al. Introduction to American Indian Art. Glorieta, N.Mex.: Rio Grande Press, 1973.

Macgowan, Kenneth, and Herman Rosse. Reprint. 1923. Masks and Demons. New York: Kraus Reprint, 1972.

Wherry, Joseph H. Indian Masks and Myths of the West. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1974.