Mask ·  Nepal, Magar, Middle Hills · ID: 3032606

Description

wood, dark brown patina, red and white pigment remains, oval form with open mouth and visible teeth, beard, brows and coiffure made from animal hair, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
the West Magar or Kham Magar are spread all over the Middle Hills, from Mahabharata to the High Himalaya. Shamanic practices are still alive among the Magar, they reveal the important role of the shaman who may accompany souls to the underworlds of disease and death. But unfortunately there is only little known about the relation between shamans and the masks. According to a Nepalese informant there existed a category of masks sculpted in the memory of the ancestor which has disappeared. Some masks are said to represent demons, others are clowns.

Comparing literature

Chazot, Eric, Masks of the Himalayas, New York 1990, p. 20