Mask
A
mask is a piece of material or kit worn on the
face. Masks have been used since antiquity for both
ceremonial and practical purposes.
The word
mask came via
French masque and either
Italian maschera or
Spanish máscara. Possible ancestors are
Latin (not classical)
mascus,
masca = "ghost", and
Arabic maskharah = "jester", "man in
masquerade".
The 5000-year-old Mask of Warka is believed to be the oldest surviving mask. [
1]
|
Masks in a Guatemalan Market. |
* In ritual, social and religious functions, where participants wear them to represent spiritual or legendary figures. In some cultures it is also believed that the wearing of a mask will allow the wearer to take on the attributes of that mask's representation; i.e., a leopard-mask will induce the wearer to become leopard-like.
* In
Mexico and
Central America, most towns have both a
Christian name and an indigenous name, for example,
Santiago Tianguistenco, or
Santa Maria Axixitla. All Christian saints have a specific day in the year dedicated to them, and each town typically has a festival on that day, involving a combination of Christian and indigenous tradition. These festivals frequently include parades and street theatre that act out a story. The masks and costumes from these festivals have become collectors items. A mask used in such a festival is known as having been "danzada" or "danced." These hand-made, painted masks are typically made from wood and may use rope, animal horns or teeth, or rubber from tire inner tubes.
* In
Africa, specifically
West Africa, masks play an important role in traditional ceremonies and theatrical dances. All African masks fall into one of four categories: the ancestor spirit, the mythological hero, the combination of ancestor and hero, and the animal spirit.
* Criminals often use masks to avoid
identification when committing
crimes. In many jurisdictions, it is an additional criminal offense to wear a mask while committing a crime; it is also often a crime to wear a mask at public
assemblies and
demonstrations.
* Occasionally a
witness for the
prosecution appears in
court in a mask to avoid being recognized by associates of the
accused.
* Participants in a
black bloc at
protests often wear masks, often
bandannas, to avoid recognition, and to try to protect against any
riot control agents used.
|
A softball catcher wearing a mask for protection. |
Protective masks have these functions:
*Providing a supply of breathable air or other oxygen-containing gas.
*Protecting the face against flying objects or dangerous environments, while allowing vision.Many masks have both functions.
This category merges into the categories of
goggles and protective
helmets and
visors.
Here are included:
*A cloth tied over the mouth and nose as a dust filter.
*
Filter masks.
*
Surgical masks.
*
Gas masks.
*The familiar eyes-and-nose
diving mask.
*
Breathing masks connected to some
industrial breathing sets. These are usually fullface.
*
Breathing masks connected to some
underwater breathing sets. These are usually fullface. See
this link and
this link for examples.
*
Oxygen masks worn by high-altitude pilots.
*
Oxygen masks used as part of medical oxygen resuscitation kit.
*
Anaesthetic masks used in surgery in hospitals.
*
CPR masks used in
*Sport masks such as
fencing masks,
ice hockey goalkeeper's masks,
baseball catcher, and
American football*
Ski masks.
*
Welder's masks.
*The faceplates of
spacesuit helmets.Of masks that supply breathable air, some also cover the eyes (full-face); and some only cover the mouth and nose, and the wearer must also wear
goggles.
* A "shameful" mask (
Schandmaske in
German) is devised for public humiliation; a popular reduced form are donkey ears for a bad ('dumb') pupil or student
* Particularly uncomfortable types, such as an iron mask, are fit as devices for
torture or
corporal punishment* Masks were used to alienate and
silence prisoners in
Australian gaols in the late
19th century. They were made of white cloth and covered the face, leaving only the eyes visible.
*
Bondage masks are worn by some for sexual reasons. They are usually made of leather or rubberserve, and as
sexual objectification for the wearer, and often to provide with
sensory deprivation (
see gimp (sadomasochism)). Some
fetishize gas masks for similar reasons. Others, (usually men) participate in
female masking, a form of
cross-dressing that involves the wearing of womens' clothing and a
latex mask that gives a false representation of a female face.
* A "life mask" is a
plaster cast of a face, used as a model for making a painting or sculpture.
* A "
death mask" is the same but taken from the face of a recently dead person. Death masks were very popular in the Western World during the
18th and 19th century. Both life and death masks can preserve an accurate 3D representation of a face.
* A
facial (short for facial mask) is a temporary mask, not solid, used in cosmetics or therapy for skin treatment.
*
Balaclava*
Chicken suit*
List of hats and headgear*
Persona*
The Secret of Masks*
International Mask and Carnival Museum of
Binche*
The Noh Mask Effect: A Facial Expression Illusion*
Gallery for Offbeat and Decorative Masks
