Mask Makers Web

Dancing giants are an ancient tradition and can be found in many parts of the world. In Europe they are found especially in Catalonia, Flanders and Navarre, where they are a prominent feature of traditional, civic and religious celebrations. In Britain most were destroyed in the reformation, or the Puritan era, but Christopher, Salisbury's traditional giant, can still be seen in the city's museum. The visit of a replica of Christopher to Dorchester in June 1987 occasioned the birth of Lilbet Large, the first of the modern Dorchester Giants.

Added on: Nov 08, 2002 | Hits: 4247

Preceded by their drummer and many official collectors in white and red, the Giants arrive at 9 am to the splendid City Hall : it's time for the Lord Mayor's speech, pigeon releases, handfulls of sweets, brass bands, afternoon parade with innumerable halts in various bars to refresh the strong porters and the crowd. Douai is drowned under confetti while floats and folklore groups from other countries stream through the city.

Added on: Nov 08, 2002 | Hits: 4723

Tradition demands it that giants should be carried by men who should slip into the osier bulk so that the first can dance. Yet, the carrying of giants has been in the past few years more and more subsidised by more convenient facilities (giants on wheels, on floats, on platforms, ?). A giant that is not carried cannot dance, and thus, it is not alive!

Added on: Nov 08, 2002 | Hits: 7261

The dragon dance was started by the Chinese who had shown great belief and respect towards the dragon. It is an important item of the Chinese Culture and tradition. Dragon Dance has spread throughout China and to the whole world. It becomes a special performance of arts in the Chinese physical activities. It symbolises the bringing of good luck and prosperity in the year to come for all the human beings on earth. According to ancient history, during the period of Chun Chiu, the learning of Chinese Martial Arts was very popular and in the spare time, dragon dance was also being taught to students to provide more encouragement.

Added on: Oct 17, 2002 | Hits: 4148

Dragon dances are the most spectacular dances performed at New year. Chinese consider dragons to be friendly and helpful creatures associated with strength, good fortune, wisdom and longevity. These creatures inhabit every body of water as well as rain and are linked to the Pearl of Knowledge. The longer the dragon, the more luck it will bring to the community. As a result, communities strive to have very long dragons dancing during the New Year. Some dragons are so long that they require twenty or thirty people to hold up the tail!

Added on: Oct 17, 2002 | Hits: 4105

SCROLL DOWN PAGE. The season of masquerading and merrymaking is called Masopust. This Mardi Gras is celebrated from Epiphany until Ugly Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), mainly in Moravia, but also in parts of Bohemia. Masopust which means ?good-bye to meat? has always been among the most colorful and enthusiastic folklore events of the year.

Added on: Oct 13, 2002 | Hits: 4056

The oldest masks are those representing goats, cranes and horses. Other masks represented beggars, devils, witches and death. Today, along with traditional masks, there are modern-day masks depicting robots and astronauts....... Lithuanian-American Community, Inc.

Added on: Oct 13, 2002 | Hits: 4268

( SCROLL DOWN PAGE TO GET TO THE MASKS ) Borucan craftsman have for centuries created elaborately carved balsa and cedar masks as essential accoutrements of the festival. They originally depicted jaguars, mountain pigs, mythological and ancestral figures (personajes y los antepasados). As resistance to the Conquest grew, the character of the ritual and the masks changed to include ghoulish devils, which is of course a European idea, bearded Spaniards, mules, horses, blacks (from contact with slaves) and, importantly, the bull as the symbol of the Conquest

Added on: Oct 13, 2002 | Hits: 14066

This dance is designated as intangible cultural property in Yamagata hyon in Japan. The 'rice-planting dance', which starts with 'to be happy, to be happy in the spring????', has been launched since the middle age of Edo period in order to pray for good harvest and cheer the farmers.

Added on: Oct 11, 2002 | Hits: 9100

Romania presents cultural events. I took these pictures attending a performance of a Romanian theatre group. When they didn't perform in the pavilion they were out on the streets to entertain visitors.

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 4243

There is a strong belief in masks belonging to souls of ancestors amongst rural population. Mask dancers, who propitiate the spirit and in a state of trance give manifold blessings to the gathered devotees, both heal the sick and entertain spectators. Masks of Siva and Durga (and her manifest form of Shakti) are powerful iconic masks in India. In modern India, mask dances at theatrical and ritualistic levels are thriving well.

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 4464

Make-ups or masks of Beijing Opera let guess the personality of characters of the play. When they are joined as in this set to accessories symbolising the different pieces of the repertory, they make the identification even more obvious. Look how the cutting and the painting is marvellous in these big size paper-cuts.

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 4227

Grimacing and terrifying or quiet and seducing faces, Beijing opera masks can be very different. This collection is exceptional by the use of plain and void it makes and by aesthetic qualities it shows.

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 4198

these masks show the diversity of facial make-ups and accessories of Chinese Opera. A true demonstration of paper-cut craftsmen's skill...

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 7485

The deaths of villagers are 'celebrated' once or twice a year by the dance of the spirits, performed by dancers with big masks. It is a very energetic dance which, together with the rhythmic music, brings the crowd to great excitement. The dancers are in a sort of competition with each other, each with his group of supporters.

Added on: Oct 10, 2002 | Hits: 7425

As the wooden masks and statues of Africa have grown in popularity in the West, the handicraft industry in Angola has sought to meet the demand for African art. The stylized masks and trinkets that are created to catch a tourist's eye are commonly known as "airport art." They are pieces produced in series, to the taste of the average tourist, but lack any real link to the deeper cultural undercurrents of the people.

Added on: Oct 08, 2002 | Hits: 4244

Originally part of a large helmet, this detached face mask was part of the armor worn by soldiers in the Roman cavalry. The face may represent Aphrodite, Artemis, or even an effeminate Apollo, since the generalized features make any precise identification difficult........

Added on: Oct 07, 2002 | Hits: 4089

African masks are not pieces of wood more or less decorative, but religious symbols that control the life of the village. They are linked with agrarian, funeral, and initiation rites. Each man has to carry out several rites, in order to be considered as a member of the community in his own right. On the other hand, the mask takes the vital strength of a being that runs away out when it dies, to control it, to avoid that it hurts someone, and to distribute it in benefit of the community. During the ritual dance, the bearer is protected by the mask, and it transforms him in another being. He must be dressed not to be recognised. The dress is also considered part of the mask, but the most important thing is the head, where the vital strength is

Added on: Oct 04, 2002 | Hits: 8456

Balifolder - Bali tourism website Ritual dance drama, mask carving and lots more. Beautiful site.

Added on: Sep 29, 2002 | Hits: 11468

many fine masks shown here

Added on: Sep 16, 2002 | Hits: 4339

The tradition of masks that we have inherited has its origin in healing the sick. In the past, sometimes even now people are inclined to believe those super natural beings such as devils or departed souls inflict the human beings with diseases or epidemics.

Added on: Sep 16, 2002 | Hits: 4249

Sanni mask Kolam . Raksha mask

Added on: Sep 16, 2002 | Hits: 4428

The Vikings did not celebrate Halloween, and while they had a major celebration at near the same time of year, it did not involve costumes or masquerades. Yet we know from archaeology that they did use masks, and there is evidence to suggest that these may have been connected with a different seasonal celebration.......read on folks !

Added on: Sep 15, 2002 | Hits: 6403

Good site. Among info here: Beautiful series of 15 photos describing traditions.

Added on: Sep 15, 2002 | Hits: 4228

Many beautiful masks displayed here: "Over the centuries, the many ethnic groups that populate the Himalayas have produced a myriad of fascinating masks. presented together, they evoke the spirit of the ancient cultures of this region of the world. While the classical art of the Himalayas (bronze, wood, and stone sculptures as well as murals and paintings on cloth) has been acquired by western museums and is recoqnized for its quality and richness through publications, the art of the Himalayan mask is just beginning to be discovered." Eric Chazot, 1990.

Added on: Aug 30, 2002 | Hits: 4407