Art unmasked

Today the future of the "mask" is in the doldrums except in the case of exotic performing arts like that of the Chau dance of Orissa, writes K.D.L. Khan

MASKS are a blend of painting and sculpture that dramatically reflect the creativity of different cultures. Further serving as symbols in rites of passage and in festivals of renewal, they tell you much about the culture from which they come. The connoisseur will find that masks are beautiful objects of art in their own right, as well as fascinating statements about the people and places from which they come.

For thousands of years, Indian culture ranging from the Aryans to the hill tribes has used the mask as a vehicle to convey expressions of religion/dance/ festival moods. But today the future of the "mask" is in the doldrums except in the case of exotic performing arts like that of the Chau dance of Orissa.

Anthropologists estimate that 60 years ago there were more than one thousand varieties of masks used all over India. This ranged from the Buddhist mahakala masks used in the dances of the Ladakh/Sikkim to the Kathakali masks of Kerala. The Naga tribals of North-East had their own masks for the annual harvest dance and in western India, in Gujarat and Maharashtra, masks are very popular among the Kukana and Warli tribes.

Faced with the prospect of their extinction, recently attempts have been made to unravel the various types of masks, the process of making them, the rituals and myths associated with the same, as the status of mask makers gives us a good insight into our culture. On first examination, these masks appear to defy categorisation for masks perform a variety of functions depending on the occasions of their use, which include initiation ceremonies, ancestor worship, funerals and agricultural rites.

Many religious masks are treated as sacred cult objects and receive offerings. Each mask seems to be unique. But after viewing many, we begin to see that they fall into iconographic groups. Most strong masks, such as tribal masks, Sikkim lama masks, masks of demonic characters (devils and evil spirits) and masks used in sacrificial rites and cult initiation, reflect this integral relationships of icon, mask and movement. Softer, contemplative masks, like dance masks, are product of the same aesthetics as regards to character, function and power in culture. The masks in India can be divided into three groups: masks used for dance/ for religious festivals/ by tribals.

The first group—the masks used for dances were relatively safe before the advent of Freedom. The 565 maharajas/nawabs had in their principalities different kinds of mask dances and these dance troupes like the Chau mask dancers of Seraikella were maintained as a matter of tradition. But with the abolition of privy purses, the former rulers had to abandon fostering these artistic creations.

Secondly the masks used in festivals like Durga Puja/ Dasehra/ Ramnavami. These masks are shown great reverence by the mask makers and the performers. Ramlila masks and crowns, along with other accessories, are kept within the temple precincts and used only once a year in the ceremonial Ramlila performances during Dasehra celebrations in October.

As for the third group, it was the tribals who were the main providers of masks to the national art scene. Eight per cent of the Indian population or 80 million Indians are tribal in their social structure, divided into nearly 600 tribes and the masks were the main feature of their beliefs. Whether it is to protect village crops from hailstone damage or the victory of Durga over malignant deities, the masks were ever present in ceremonies throughout.

In the Himalayan region, we have the famous Mahakala mask, whose third eye expresses the wisdom of omniscience. The five skulls signify victory over the five emotional obscurations. These masks are used to defeat evil spirits and, when not being used for a ceremony, are hung on the walls of homes. Some of the tribes using masks are Bhils, Garasia, Bison Horn Madia, Santhals, Oraons etc.

The tribals of Madhya Pradesh in Central India wear facial masks during festival and ritual dances and call them Mukhada. They use locally available and most inexpensive material for the construction of these masks. For an unknown reason, the many tribals neither exhibit nor agree to discuss about their precious masks even to researchers. However, there is only one tribal town in India that depicts 54 tribal mask characters. This town is known as Jawhar, from Thane district, in the state of Maharashtra. These 54 characters are taken in a procession during a Mask Festival called Bohada.

According to one anthropologist, "All tribal masks have a pair of holes to peep through, but they lack similar exits for the nose, mouth and earlobes. These organs are drawn on the mask itself. Honeybee wax is employed to fix nose, pumpkin seeds or rice grains to represent teeth and bangles around eyes. The hair of a goat or a bear is used to denote beard, moustaches and hair. Generally these masks are uncoloured, however some of them bear blood-red colour. The tribals with an artistic taste may decorate their masks with multi-colour designs. They may also use the gloss paper or aluminum foil to get glitter to their mask. At times they fix peacock and other birds plumes for decoration".

It is extremely difficult to preserve these masks beyond a year or two as they are the targets of insects, rats and moisture attack. Now a days papier mache masks mainly meant for the tourist industry use waste paper pulp as the basic raw material, sometimes combined with starch. The paper pulp is then given various forms and shapes, limited only by the imagination of the artist. Papier-mache art using wooden moulds gives a very fine finish as compared to the tribal form sculpting which uses no moulds and hence is rough in finish. The art collector will find that masks are beautiful objects of art in their own right, as well as fascinating statements about the people and places from which they come. — MF

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