The Dead or Skull Face Masks

The Dead or Skull Face Masks

Skull face masks represented the dead, not specific people but ancestors in general. Some Pagu believed that the masks were an invitation to the dead to join them. They were used passively, at times in huge numbers and decoratively, to invite the dead to share in and observe their ceremonies and festivities. They came in all sizes for they believed even dead babies should be there. They could also be worn by actors in performances where they served as commentators through gestures and mime, often making fun of other performers or what they represented, or some aspect of Pagunan society. It was said that in particular they made fun of the demon child or brat dancers who in turn were heckling others. One early observer remarked that in Pagunan performances there were two critics for every actor, and surmised that this was a Jewish influence, wondering if the Pagu were one of the lost tribes.

Most skull face masks were made of seaweed, which was molded and dried in the sun. Bloughart has described the process and claimed thousands were made for a bacchanal. None of the seaweed ones have survived, indeed few would have survived more than a week or so, they were disposable and, incidentally, biodegradable. Probably only after the introduction of steel blades were some of these masks worn by performers carved out of darle. Interestingly, the darle masks may have been carved to look like the seaweed ones rather than a real skull. They were also typically, like the one here, painted a pale green suggestive of bleached seaweed, looking as if they could have been formed by human hands and fingers pulling and squeezing them into shape. Following the form of one material in another has a long history. Classic Greek buildings in marble, the Parthenon for example, copied the beam end detail of earlier timber structures.