Mask Myth

MASK LORE

In the ancient Kawama'yas tribe, the people would often wear this mask on the night of a full moon to keep out the evil spirits that were said to cause insanity and to attract the good spirits which were said to bring people “gifts”. The spirits were only released on a full moon because according to legend, the full moon was a portal from other worlds, where for one night a month, the spirits were released into the world. To keep the evil spirits out, the nose and mouth were closed on the mask, so they wouldn’t breathe them in. To unsure that the good spirits could still get in, glass was placed in the eyes. Because of the transparency of the glass, it was thought that evil spirits were unable to pass through it. The Kawama'yas tribe thought that birds were very sacred. Bird feathers were thought to be great at warding off evil spirits. Feathers are placed at the top of the mask so that one of the most important organs, the brain, could not be controlled by the spirits. The good spirits were said to be able to give “gifts” to people, such as knowledge, creativity, etc. Sparkles were put on the mask because these good spirits were said to be attracted to things that were glowing, or shining. The black, white, grey and brown side represents the evil spirits they are trying to prevent and the colourful side represents the good spirits. The patterns on the mask are supposed to produce a camouflage effect.

By: Jaime Ashworth