Mask

Item number 2655/3 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

Paper mache animal mask. Deer-like horns have four prongs that angle inwards and are painted green, purple, and black. Orange-red hair surrounds the head down to the cheeks. Triangular shaped ears are just below the horns and are painted purple and outlined with the colour black. The outside of the eye sockets are painted lime green and the hollow socket walls are painted black. The snout is painted dark green, and the opened mouth is painted purple and has a twelve teeth on the upper and lower gum. The tongue sticks out of the mouth and is upturned exposing black ink print on the underside. The rim of the entire mask is bound with rags or cloth-like material.

History Of Use

This would have been worn during the Cora Easter Week celebrations. Youths play the role of Judeos and they fashion their own papier-mâché masks. Under the command of their captains, they begin their hunt for Jesus Christ. After Christ’s death, the Judeos take over the village, fighting each other with wooden swords, dancing and threatening anyone who fails to acknowledge their authority. The usual order of the world is reversed; speech is replaced by babble, buffoons taunt onlookers and chaos ensues. With the resurrection of Christ, power reverts to the civil leaders and Judeos collapse in spasms, eventually washing the paint off their bodies and burning their masks as order is returned to the community.