Vintage Dayak Ancestor Mask (Hudoq), Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) (1200TSK) $485

Description

The culture, rituals, tribal and ethnic art of the Dayak (Dyak) of Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia is a mix of shamanism, animism and ancestor worship. Dyak festival masks worn on the face or large ones attached to a costume repel malicious spirits from entering communal spaces, insure village safety, protect babies in their carriers and defend the souls of the dead whose bones are placed in ceramic jars or on burial poles. Hudoq is the name for 3 things: Dayak masks, the pests that can damage the rice harvest and also the huge agricultural festival celebrating the rice harvest. Believed to attract gods, sacred spirits and ancestors who assure fertility and banish anything polluting the rice crop or harming the village or its members, Hudoq often  have wing-like ears carved separately and bound to the mask with rattan which may dry and detach and account for old masks having newer bindings. Masks can be worn on the face or if large be attached to costume. Mask images are also on walls, doors, house supports, shields and burial poles and are also created as beadwork, attached to baby carriers and clothing and are also made from cut cloth and stitched into ceremonial skirts. Hudoq masks often have deeply set eyes, hanging earrings, decorative feathers, bulging or angular noses, drooping brows, exposed fanged teeth and may also be simple or lavish images of a god, spirit, ancestor or animal caricature made to frighten, amuse, or entertain. This vintage piece is in excellent condition with no restoration or repairs except for the replaced binding at the winged ears and was personally collected in the 1970s in Bali. It is It is part of the VA Tribal Art Collection and set on a museum quality stand.

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