On Inuit masks, " concentric circles...usually represent the cosmos." [22] The Yup'ik are Eskimos of western Alaska whose masks vary enormously but are characterised by great invention. Yup'ik masks differ in size from forehead and finger 'maskettes', to enormous constructions that dancers need external supports to perform with. [23] .

Whether created by the shaman himself, or by an expert carver under his instruction, masks are a physical manifestation of the shaman’s vision of the spirit world. In this Nepcetaq, or “Shaman’s Mask,” the artist has depicted a helping spirit bordered by a flat plane representing the boundary between the realm of animal spirits and that ...

2019年1月11日 · Yup’ik dance mask representing Tuunraq, a shaman’s helping spirit often viewed as an evil spirit. This mask was made in Pastolik, Village, Pastolik River, Alaska, in the 1870s. The curved mouth is splattered with paint to represent the blood from the creatures the spirit has devoured.

The creation of masks was a communal effort, often guided by shamans, embodying the spirits that would assist in these rituals. Inuit shamanism, as explored through the wisdom of the shaman Aua in discussions with explorer Knud Rasmussen, offers insights into Inuit beliefs about the soul, life, death, and the interconnectedness of all beings.

This ‘spirit mask’, depicting the distorted face of a helping spirit, was worn by an Inuit shaman or angakok in Alaska, North America. These masks were used in ritual dances to ensure good hunting and good health. The shaman’s role is to communicate with the spirits and ask their help for the sake of the community.

The Wind-Maker Spirit, one of more than 30 paired masks dreamed by a shaman from the Kuskokwin River area around 1900. In this mask we see paired tubes, representing the winter and summer winds, slender danglers, representing the air bubbles rising from submerged seals, and the concentric circles are the different levels of the Inuit cosmos.

Masks among Eskimo peoples served a variety of functions. Masks were made out of driftwood, animal skins, bones and feathers. They were often painted using bright colors. There are archeological miniature maskettes made of walrus ivory, dating from early Paleo-Eskimo and from early Dorset culture period.

Historical masks from the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic for sale, including important Yup’ik dance and shaman’s masks and Inupiaq portrait masks

A superb Nepcetaq or shaman’s mask with residual blue and reddish paint, anonymous Yup’ik artist, Lower Yukon River, Alaska […]

2020年4月2日 · This Yupik transformation mask was a shaman’s tool. It was imbued with the spirit of the seal, a sea mammal essential to the survival of the Inuit and related peoples. The animal head is sculpted in the mask lower part which might serve as a handle.