Transformation mask

Transformation Mask (Kwakwaka'wakw: British Columbia, Canada) In the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, here presented in a exhibition in Paris.

A transformation mask is a type of mask used by indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast and Alaska in ritual dances. These masks usually depict an outer, animal visage, which the performer can open by pulling a string to reveal an inner, human face carved in wood. Northwest coast peoples generally use them in potlatches to illustrate myths, while they are used by Alaska natives for shamanic rituals.

Gallery

• 

  Raven/Sisutl transformation mask by Oscar Matilpi, Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, 1997. In the permanent collection of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

• 

  The same Raven/Sisutl transformation mask, open, by Oscar Matilpi, Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, 1996. In the permanent collection of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

See also

• Masks among Eskimo peoples

References

• Shearar, Cheryl (2000). Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre. ISBN 1-55054-782-8. 

External links

• Entry on the website of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• Canadian Museum of Civilization example
• Alaskan example from the Smithsonian