Mask waistband

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Mask frets are among the medical societies of the Iroquois - Indians .

The masks of the mask frets were carved from wood. They often depicted human-like beings with distinctive features. In addition to the bunch of false faces , the bunch of corn straw faces , the bunch of medicine men and the Idosbund also used masks. Depending on the source, the Idos bond is identical to the bond of mystical animals .

The purpose of the masks is not to hide anything, but rather to portray mythological figures. The person wearing the mask behaves as if he were the particular supernatural person himself. According to stories, Iroquois hunters occasionally met quasi-human beings on their travels, who scurried from tree to tree in the woods. Sometimes they appeared as disembodied heads with long hair. They demanded Indian tobacco and maize puree from the hunters . These creatures with the sweet and sour smile and the broken noses called the Seneca Great defender , while the Onondaga called The great humpbacked one . The beings appeared only to a few Indians. But they are well known in the myths . The Iroquois tried to imitate these quasi-human beings with their masks and the associated ceremonies.

The masks are described in detail in the literature. They often have deep-set eyes and an oversized nose. The mouth can be very different. One time it is shaped into a grin, another time into a grimace. Sometimes teeth can be seen, other times a tongue. The masks are usually painted red or black.

literature

  • William N. Fenton: Masked Medicine Societies of the Iroquois. In: Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1940. United States Government Printing Office , Washington 1941, pp. 397-429.
  • Wolfgang Lindig: Secret societies and men's societies of the prairie and woodland Indians of North America. (= Studies on cultural promotion. Volume 23). Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1970, DNB 457437618 .
  • Arthur C. Parker: Secret Medicine Societies of the Seneca. In: American Anthropologist. Col. 11, 1909, pp. 161-185. (Reprint: Kraus, New York 1962)