Surveillance Masks

The Pagu had no police, courts or jails. They had no criminal law, as we know it, and aside from the moon name prohibitions they had no concept of the rule of law, and the prohibitions dealt with relationships, not acts. Behaviour that harmed others was viewed in terms of a kind of situational ethics rather than prohibited acts. For example, theft was not necessarily wrong. It was, however, wrong to take things without telling the person who had them. It was wrong to take more than one needed at the time. It was wrong to leave the other with less than they needed. Exposure, admonitions and or ridicule, were common remedies for minor transgressions. More serious or persistent ones might be dealt with by shunning. Something like homicide would be resolved through compensation or in some cases banishment, which was feared as much as death. Amoks and murderers might be killed if caught soon after the act, but the Pagu would have considered a death row, where people might remain for years, as too cruel to contemplate. A violent person posing a threat to others could be crippled although this was rare.

Surveillance or Watcher masks were fixed in place and never worn. They were like plaques and quite heavy. They were put in various public places, where people traded, where politics was discussed, where people met socially or for sex. Several were placed around the areas where the bacchanals were held. They asked people to look into their hearts and think about what they were doing. Sometimes a Dead mask was placed next to them to suggest that their ancestors were watching them.

This mask is typical of the more elaborate ones. The eyes have multiple facets like a fly's although the Pagu would not have known this. It conveys, "I am watching you", a warning with a suggestion of omniscience. They could be considered a primitive version of surveillance cameras.