Olmec Masks
- Created 1500+ years before the Aztec civilization
- Far in both time and geography
- Similar to us looking back at ancient Roman civilization
- Mask is polished and created with greenstone
- Aztecs collecting objects and ritually burying them for an offering
- Aztecs had reverence for cultures that came before them
- Olmec is the mother culture of Mesoamerica
- Teotihuacan: "city of the gods"
Feathered Headdress
- Sent to Europe by Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador
- Speaks to long-distance trade and tribute items: paid by conquered cities to the Aztecs
- Luxury items sent to Tenochtitlan (Aztec capital, present-day Mexico City)
- Costume was important to the Aztecs as well as many Mesoamerican cultures
- Amanteca: feather workers, highly-regarded
- Shift to Christian iconography
Bundu/Sowei Helmet Mask (Mende people)
- West African phenomenon, several ethnic groups participated in masquerade tradition
- Masks were worn not on the face but on the head
- Only known masquerade tradition where women wore the masks
- Made by male carvers to be worn by females for initiation
- Women were taken to secluded forest area where girls were initiated, instructed on how to be good wives
- Artists create an image of morality that young girls should strive for
- Down-turned eyes indicate that women should be reserved, and the small mouth indicates that women should be quiet
- Artists suggest that woman is full-figured which indicates she should be ready to bear children
Female (pwo) mask (Chokwe peoples)
- Danced by a male dancer despite the mask representing an ideal woman
- Meant to honor young, fertile women who had successfully given birth
- Culture is matrilineal
- Eyes and mouth being closed suggest a looking inward and a deserving of respect
- Had trading relations throughout Africa
Mask (Buk), Torres Strait, Mabuiag Island
- Torres Strait is a body water between Papua New Guinea and Australia
- Masks made out of turtle shells with multiple pieces stitched together
- Possibly represents the face of a hero or ancestor
- Likely danced at initiation, funerary, and harvest rituals
- Connected the wearer and culture to the supernatural
- Missionaries made the masks obsolete and even asked that the existing masks be burned
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