Introduction to Masks

People of many cultures-both recent and ancient-have made masks.  Gold, stone, wood, bark, copper, bronze, tin, clay, feathers, and ivory are some of the materials used in mask making.  Some masks are also decorated with colors, patterns, and textures. The resulting piece might look fierce, festive, or solemn. Some masks are one part of an elaborate costume.

            You can appreciate the appearance of a mask even if you know nothing about its meaning.  But if you can learn how and why the mask was used, you can increase you appreciation of it and understand the cultural traditions of the people that made it. 

            Some times even experts can’t know the exact function of a particular mask because there are no records of its original use.  What they can do is make suggestions and guesses regarding the intentions of the artist and the wearer. The meaning of the mask and the mask ceremony remain a mystery to the outsider. In the modern world, people might collect masks, and museums might display them, but originally the masks had a specific purpose.  They were much more than decorative art objects.

            People have used masks for many reasons. For example, actors from ancient Greece and Rome played some roles wearing masks. This was to facilitate the actor’s impersonation of the character. The Japanese and Chinese still use elaborate masks in some of their traditional theater. Although in Western society most actors do not use masks in theater anymore, a pair of masks, one comic and one tragic, have become a widely recognized symbol of drama.

            People make masks for many other reasons, too.  Tibetans hang brightly colored, fierce-looking masks to scare away demons.  The Hopi Native American tribe in the south-western United States, make kachinas, masks representing helpful spirits.  The ancient Egyptians made masks that covered their mummies. Many people still wear masks at events such as Halloween, Carnival, and Mardi Gras.

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