The Essence of the Ritual Masks

The nature of the mask is deeply symbolic. Nations around the world have used ritual masks throughout their cultural history. Even in the modern world, we keep the heritage of thousands of years, sometimes forgetting its purpose.

A solemn Buddhist festival - Cham dance. The aim is to show the presence of the deities on the Earth, and thus to ward off evil spirits from the followers of Buddhism

Wood, leather, grass, bones- pieces of nature, basic materials for images of human faces, heads of animals and mythological creatures. The carrier of the mask was transformed into a creature, whose appearance was hidden behind bizarre forms of a mask. This is one of the main attributes of totemism, which became the basis of all existing religions.

The scientists can’t always understand the origin of the mask. But, most of them have always performed two basic functions: to drive away hostile forces by terrible appearance or to deceive the called spirit. A way for a mortal to become one of the creatures of the hidden world.

Kwak'wala has achieved incredible perfection in the creation of religious masks. Their mask-transformers were multiple entities for the carrier. He could change his essence in the process of the ritual and immerse in another world even deeper

The ritual mask s primarily the attribute of the ritual itself, which has always been important to people. The separation of the sacred world with the world of the living. The transition from one world to another is impossible without magic items. One of the most important tools of such a transition was the mask. Therefore, its function is transformation into the creature from the sacred world (animal, demon, God).

Different nations of the world have the masks of different purposes. The cult - the veneration of gods and ancestors. Military - to intimidate enemies and transform into menacing creatures. Funeral and wedding for the embodiment of social rituals. Theatre and dance masks- to change personality for the sake of art.

Despite the great variety of types of masks, all of them are universal. After all, the main task is to hide the human face, to be precise - the emotions which it reflects, to conceal the true self from the spirits and people. Hiding your face, you also renounce your social status and everything connected with your personality. This is a symbolic death.

Passing the ritual, the bearer of the mask temporarily "dies" for the outside world and "resurrects" with a new name or a changed entity. The whole Western world still hold such a ritual in a wedding ceremony: hide the bride's face with veil. Putting on the mask (a veil), the girl temporarily leaves the existing world. Removing the veil, she returns as a woman.

Thus, the mask is a symbol of transition to another reality. The phenomenon of the mask is multi-faceted, but a fundamental principle of its essence is a way of stay outside the world of the living.

Maybe the phenomenon of the popularity of social networking in the 21st century- is the result of the unconscious echo of primitive times in our minds. Instead of wooden masks, we use digital avatars to transform into other entities, sometimes for a long time leaving the world of the living, with its social rules.

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