This document discusses the history and uses of masks around the world. It provides examples of masks from different cultures and the purposes they serve. Some key points: - Masks have been used for over 20,000 years for rituals, protection, disguise, entertainment, and more. They allow people to transform identity or represent other beings. - Masks serve social functions like concealing identity, frightening, amusing, or being used in performances and rituals. Some have more serious uses like surgeons' masks or gas masks. - Examples are given of masks from cultures like Ancient Egypt, Greece, China, Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, India, Canada, and Mexico. Different mask styles and purposes are described

1. Masks:Facesof Culture
Grade 9 Clay Unit

2. Why study masks in ART?
• Masks have been around for at
least 20,00 years
• Mask were and still are made in
almost all cultures and
civilizations for varying purposes
• Mask are used for different
reasons and can be divided into
masks that are used for ritual
reasons, for protection, disguise
and entertainment..

3. • Masks can transform the identity of
the wearer.
• They allow us to replace one reality
over another
• While it is perfectly acceptable to enjoy
masks from many cultures as rich
colorful works of art, one can gain a
deeper understanding by considering
how masks are used in a particular
culture and the meanings or
traditions that wearing the masks
brings.
What’s the point of a Mask?

4. Masks have several important
social functions:
1. to conceal one’s identity (as in masquerade
party)
2. to frighten or amuse (as in Halloween)
3. for ritual (as in religious or magic
ceremonies)
4. for performances ( as in actors and
dancers)..

5. Although today masks are worn
mostly for fun, some have serious
uses.
The surgeon wears a mask to
protect her from getting germs,
the soldier a gas mask to protect
him from poisonous fumes
 football or hockey player wears
one to avoid injury to his face.

6. One of the most
famous masks is the
death mask of the
boy king, the
Pharaoh
Tutankhamen.

7. We will be looking at 3 types of masks
1) Ceremonial
• have different characteristics and functions,
depending on the culture that is associated with
the particular mask.
• There are some areas in the world where masks:
• are worn to communicate with ancestors
• to ward off evil spirits,
• to entertain a crowd through dramatic arts,
• or to express prestige and wealth.

8. Duk-duk and Tubuan
• masks of New
Guinea were
used to
intimidate other
members of the
tribe and
enforce social
codes.

9. 2) Festival
• An occasion for feasting or celebration,
especially a day or time of religious
significance
• An often regularly recurring program of
cultural performances, exhibitions,
• Decorative with some meaning

10. “Moretta muta”,
• an oval mask that
women wear for
Carnival in Venice
• has no straps to be
fastened to the head.
• Instead, it has a button
on the inner side that is
held in the mouth and
with that mask is held
to the face.

11. 3) Theatrical
• The image of juxtaposed Comedy
and Tragedy masks are widely
used to represent the Performing
Arts, and specifically Drama.

12. Ancient Greek
• Ancient Greek’s masks
that were used in
theater had brass
megaphones, where
the mouth of mask is,
to amplify what actors
are talking.

13. .
North American Masks
Native Americans have a rich
history in mask making. They
wore masks in many of their
ceremonies.

14. • A star of Topeng dance from
Indonesia can have 30 to 40
masks that are for his use
only.
• No one else can use those
masks because it is believed
that it will offend spirits that
reside in them.
• When a Topang dancer dies,
masks that he used are
never moved from the place
where they were at the
moment of his death.
Indonesia: Topeng Dance

15. Ancient Egyptian
• Ancient Egyptian death
masks were made so
the soul can recognize
the body as well as help
the deceased to be
accepted by other
divine immortals in the
afterlife.

16. • In Chinese opera all
masks are color coded
and every color
describes personality of
the character that mask
represents. That way
audience get better and
faster picture about
characters and
their relationships.
Chinese Opera

17. • Red used on masks indicates a positive character,
heroism.
• Purple can represent justice and sophistication.
• Black means that the character is neutral.
• Blue faces show stubbornness, astuteness and
fierceness.
• Green shows that the character is violent,
impulsive and lacks restraint.
• Yellow tells the audience that the character is
cruel. Yellow can also mean evil, hypocritical,
ambitious or sly.
• White faces indicate that the character is evil and

18. • In African tribes, mask
wearing is reserved
mostly for men. Even
wearing of masks that
represent female
beauty.
African Masks

19. • Japanese theater Noh
masks are made with
such a skill that they
can convey different
emotions with
expressions depending
on angle in which mask
is seen or on the light
that falls on the mask -
without moving parts.
Japanese Noh

21. Bali
• After the end of Topeng
dance, custom is that
one of the jesters, that
did storytelling, must
rush into the crowd,
grab a child and take it
behind the curtain.
There, a child would be
given candies to share
with his friends.

22. Medieval
• Masks were also
used as methods
of punishment
or shaming as a
punishment.

23. War Masks (Roman)
• In wars and fights, masks were
not only for protecting the face
but also, if made for that purpose,
methods of intimidating the
enemy..

24. • In Korea, mask dances were
methods of entertainment but also
an opportunity for satire and social
commentary.
Korean Mask

25. Rite of Passage Mask
This mask is used in ceremonies
that mark a boy’s passage from
boyhood to manhood.
Dancers would wear these carved
wooden masks in a ceremony that
would focus on building a strong
identity for the young man they
celebrated.
The mask you see is one of a very
few original masks that have
survived today. These masks are
now rarely carved.Lakisi Initiation
Mask from Africa

26. This mask is worn by male
dancers during the planting and
harvest ceremonies.
The mask is used in ceremony to
keep bad spirits from taking over
and destroying the crops. This is
the same mask worn by the
ancestors who protected the
crops in years before.
This mask is made from wood
with a fiber hat and feathers.
Harvest Dance Mask from Indonesia

27. Sikkim
This mask is from the Himilayan
country of Sikkim.
It represents the Lord of the Dead,
Mahakalla, who is featured at the
New Year’s Festivals.
As in other cultures that have such a
character, Mahakalla took the souls
of the dead from the world of the
living to the world of the dead.
By acting out these myths each year,
adults pass the story on to young
people.

28. INDIA
In northeastern India there is
a three day spring dance
festival held in honor of the
gods Shiva.
Shiva represented by this
mask, is the creator and the
destroyer of the universe;
Stories about the gods are
acted out in ballet like dance
dramas.

29. CANADA•false face mask
•. It was used to chase away the evil
spirits that were believed to have entered
a person’s body and made the person
sick.
• The design of the mask was carved
removed without killing the tree.
• It was thought that the spirit of the tree
would enter the mask and make it more
powerful.
•Horsehair hairs and animal teeth were
sometimes added to the mask.

30. MEXICOThroughout Mexico, The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), is celebrated on
November 1st and 2nd each year.
In a Halloween –like spirit of fun, the souls of
the dead are invited to return to earth to enjoy
their family and friends again. People in parades
wear masks.

36. http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-history/