Mask "mwei" · Papua New Guinea, Iatmul · ID: 3045757
Börner, Germany
Description
wood, colour pigments, clay-like mass, human hair, nassa snails, conus shell discs, The bird at the end of the long nose represents a clan totem.
The “mwei” mask, according to some sources, gets its name from the little nassa shells with which it is usually decorated.
“Mwei” masks are mounted on conical rattan and coconut fiber racks encased in painted palm leaf sheaths. At the lower part of the frame a fringed apron is tied, which is supposed to hide the body of the dancer.
The masks always appear in pairs, portraying clan ancestors in the form of brothers and sisters.The costumes are worn by younger, newly initiated men who hide under the rack, singing in howler pipes. Women dance around the masks and try to recognize the identity of the mask wearer by the legs.
Thus, the performances also serve the approach of the sexes and the love spell.
Comparing literature
Craig, Barry (ed.), Living spirits with fixed abodes, Honolulu 2010, p. 206 Peltier, Philippe et.al., Tanz der Ahnen, Zürich 2015, p. 263