Vintage Dayak Hudoq Ancestor/Spirit Mask Featured in First Spiderman Movie, Kalimantan (1314ESA)

Description

The Dayak (Dyak) people live on the Island of Kalimantan (the Indonesia part of Borneo) and their Indonesian-wood-carvings of hudoq masks are a form are offerings that attract gods, ancestors and sacred rice spirits said assure the fertility of rice and protect villages. Dayak masks are ethnic-art, tribal-art and folk-art objects that are not only worn on the face; they are also applied to many other objects. Those made for the traditional Dyak agricultural festival are also known as hudoq, also the name for both the festival itself and the pests that threaten the rice crops. Masks can be human or animal caricatures used to amuse or frighten. Like this vintage ancestral mask, they often have large wing-like separately-carved ears attached to the mask with rattan, which usually dries, cracks, and later detaches. Besides those worn on the face, carved masks are applied to shields, doors, walls, burial poles, house supports, pillars and may also be oversize carvings worn as part of a costume. Although most ancestral masks are tribal-art worn on the face, some were too large and were often part of very elaborate costume. Dayak culture is based on animism, shamanism, a form of ancestral worship, offerings to gods and ancestors and the masks’ name hudoq is the same one used for rice field pests and also the large yearly agricultural festival celebrating the rice harvest. For the huge yearly agricultural festival, masks can be scary, human or animal caricatures, amuse or frighten, but protective mask images may also applied to house doors, walls, pillars, shields, burial poles and even clothing.  A form of ancestor-worship, these masks are aids that foster communication between the living and the departed and also honor them. A unique addition to any mask collection, this mask was one of three featured in the collection of the Green Goblin in the 2002 Spiderman movie along with the Javanese Mask 1318 and the Timor Mask 1203BEK. This is in excellent condition with a nice patina demonstrating its age and use with minor paint losses and scrapes.

Click here for the blog Indonesian Dance Masks (Topeng): Spiritually Connecting the Community