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[[File:Whale_Transformation_Mask.jpg|thumb|Whale Transformation Mask ([[Kwakwaka'wakw]]: British Columbia, Canada) In the collection of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City]]
[[File:Kwakwaka'wakw_transformation_mask.jpg|thumb|Transformation Mask ([[Kwakwaka'wakw]]: British Columbia, Canada) In the collection of the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology]], Cambridge, Massachusetts, here presented in a exhibition in [[Paris]].]]


A '''transformation mask''' is a type of [[mask]] used by [[Indigenous peoples of North America|indigenous peoples]] of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Northwest Coast]] and [[Alaska natives|Alaska]] in ritual dances. These masks usually depict an outer, animal visage, which the performer can open by pulling a string to reveal an inner, human face carved in wood. Northwest coast peoples generally use them in [[potlatch]]es to illustrate myths, while they are used by Alaska natives for shamanic rituals.
A '''transformation mask''' is a type of [[mask]] used by [[Indigenous peoples of North America|indigenous peoples]] of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Northwest Coast]] and [[Alaska natives|Alaska]] in ritual dances. These masks usually depict an outer, animal visage, which the performer can open by pulling a string to reveal an inner, human face carved in wood. Northwest coast peoples generally use them in [[potlatch]]es to illustrate myths, while they are used by Alaska natives for shamanic rituals.

Revision as of 23:39, 25 July 2014

Transformation Mask (Kwakwaka'wakw: British Columbia, Canada) In the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, here presented in a exhibition in Paris.

A transformation mask is a type of mask used by indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast and Alaska in ritual dances. These masks usually depict an outer, animal visage, which the performer can open by pulling a string to reveal an inner, human face carved in wood. Northwest coast peoples generally use them in potlatches to illustrate myths, while they are used by Alaska natives for shamanic rituals.

See also

References

  • Shearar, Cheryl (2000). Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre. ISBN 1-55054-782-8.