Malaganmask "tatanua"
Alexander Freiherr von Eyb, Neuendettelsau, Germany
Description
wooden mask with remains of white, black and red pigment, narrow bonnet of bark cloth, coated with a floral patterned cloth on one side and with a simple cotton fabric with inserted wooden plugs on the opposite side, straddled with an abundant crest of plant fibre bunches, the face in openwork design with aggressive mouth and jawline, and flaring nostrils, hanging of cotton cloth backside, slightly dam. (rims, right eye), rep. (lower jaw, mouth), paint rubbed off, spots and tears in the decayed fabric;
according to the pre-owner pigments, fabric and above all the shell inlay of the eyes with “turbo petholatus opercula” are still in original condition.
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 develop 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.