In Brazil, masks were used in dances performed in honor of the dead. The mask represented animals, birds, and insects. They obtained their magical power by the wearer imitating the movements and actions of these creatures. For instance, the butterfly masks came by their magic through the dance of two men who imitated the play of these brilliant insects fluttering on the wing, settling on sand banks and rocks. The magic of the swallow masks came through the imitation of the swallow, and so it was with the owl, spider, vulture, beetle, toad, jaguar mask, and others. After the dance the masks were burned in order to drive the indwelling spirits back to their haunts. Even idols needed masks to give them life, and special power over disease and disaster. These masks must be as enduring as the gods themselves, so they were made of terra cotta, shell, and stone. Among the gifts made to Columbus when he landed in San Salvador were some of these sacred masks.
Masks originated in Asia just as they did in Africa and America, through man’s fears and superstitions. In India, China, Japan, and throughout the Orient, they have been used for centuries in religious ceremonies. Gradually they were introduced into court functions, such as wedding and birthday celebrations, and finally animal masks were used to entertain the common people.
The highly involved religions of these eastern peoples, with their countless deities, brought infinite variety to their masks. Their civilization, being old and rich in tradition, gave to the mask subtleties and refinement of characterization that could not be conceived of by primitive peoples. Their masks reflected their clear, well-defined ideas, and showed their artists’ amazing ability to recognize and analyze expressions of the human face. Tranquillity, mirth, cunning, scorn, wrath, and subtle shades of feeling are portrayed. The idea in the mind of the mask maker was so clear that we are never left in doubt as to the meaning of the mask. They are emotional interpretations, never realistic portraits.
Chinese priests used the mask in morality plays showing the rewards and punishments that will be meted out in their many heavens, hells, and purgatories. Their masks are usually horrible or terrifying, sometimes humorous, rarely beautiful. They are worn by gorgeously costumed priests who enact the plays, in pantomime, on stages erected in the temple courtyards.
In Siam, Burma, Java, and Ceylon, the mask passed from the temple to the theater and the strolling players. Much of its old symbolism has been lost, and it frequently becomes merely an elaborate piece of decoration.
Probably the most beautiful masks in the world are the religious or No masks of Japan. These are worn in the sacred No plays, of which there are more than two hundred. They represent the Japanese idea of the appearance of their gods and heroes. Music, dance, and dialogue all are used in the five or six short plays which make the No cycle. The No begins with the bestowing of blessings by the gods and their victory over the demons. A short love story follows, with possibly a bit of humor, and then a picture of the passing of life. The end is a gracious recognition of the favor of the gods. These ancient plays are performed out of doors on a simple platform erected against a wall on which is painted a symbolic pine tree. Masks have been used for more than four hundred years in these No dramas.
The ancient Egyptians used the mask in their sacrificial ceremonies. In the “Book of the Dead” ceremony one may see a priest wearing the jackal-headed mask of Anubis, standing before the bier of the great god, Osiris. The victims kneeling before him wear hare and hawk headed masks. Egyptian kings wore lion, bull, and dragon masks to impress their subjects with their mighty power. Even the mummies wore masks. On the faces of their dead kings they placed masks of pure gold as did the Mycenæans.
The mask, as we know it, came to us through the Greeks. In the worship of Demeter, the earth mother of the Greeks, masks of horses, pigs, cats, hares, and asses were used. Masks were also used in the worship of Dionysus, with dancing, chanting, and chorus. The Greeks, being the first people to have a theater, were also the first people to realize that no human face could portray the sustained expression of tragedy and comedy called for by the great rôles of their dramas. The mask became a necessity. Thespis is credited with its invention. The mask enabled an actor to play female rôles, to play many different characters, and to represent his character in youth, middle life, and old age. The open mouth characterized the Greek mask. Some scholars have believed that a brass mouthpiece was used to amplify the voice of the actor.
The Romans appropriated the Greek mask. Virgil tells us that they hung masks on trees at the time of sowing, in order to better the crops. Noble Romans wore masks of their illustrious ancestors at funerals. The impersonators riding in chariots through the streets were dressed in rich robes of office, resplendent in purple and gold such as the dead nobles had worn in their lifetime. When the funeral procession reached the Forum, the maskers solemnly took their seats on the ivory chairs placed for them on the platform of the rostra, in the sight of all the people. This spectacle, no doubt, stirred memories of the glorious past in the hearts of the old and fired the young with noble ambitions. It is said that Nero wore masks resembling his own face and those of his favorites.
With the passing of glorious Rome the mask became a degraded thing, abhorred by the early Christians.