"Malagan" mask "tatanua"
Description
light wood (“Alstonia scholaris”), eyes with shell inlay (“Turbo Phetolatus opercula”), red, indigo blue and white pigment, face in openwork design with flaring nostrils and slit-like open mouth, flanked by large ornamental ears, filigree ornaments painted in feathery lines, broad rim with drilled holes in pairs, originally serving for attachment of elaborated coiffure, min. dam. (nose), abrasion of paint, metal base;
the “tatanua” mask was a representation of the “tanua” spirit or soul of a deceased individual. “Tatanua” were danced in public, either in pairs, or in groups or lines of men. In addition to these masks the dancers wore a garland of fern leaves and other foliage round their bodies, reaching from the waist to the knee. They perform when a clan decides to sponsor a large-scale mortuary celebration, called “malagan”. Some six weeks before this event the dancers begin sleeping and eating within the sponsors house. During this time they practice a form of abstinence in order to develope male “strength” for the performance. Not only are physical contacts with women taboo, the men may not eat peeled taro and fish. Should a dancer fail to develope this male capability through abstinence, the mask will constrict his head, causing blood to run from his temples and nostrils.