4 Field Museum of Natural History 



being usually made in imitation of some animal 

 or material object. Another quite different type of 

 mask is worn by the boys, whenever they appear in 

 public, during the period in which they are being 

 initiated into manhood. This period lasts for several 

 months, and during that time they must remain within 

 a special house built for this purpose, being allowed to 

 go out only when they are covered and concealed, with 

 the exception of their legs and feet, by these masks. A 

 third type of mask appears only on the occasion of 

 certain special ceremonies, and represents certain 

 spirits or deities supposed to be present in connection 

 with these ceremonies. In this region all the masks 

 are made of a framework of split bamboo covered with 

 painted bark-cloth similar to the South Sea Island 

 tapa, though not so well made. The three types, while 

 showing great variation within the type, are still quite 

 characteristic, so any masked figure could be instantly 

 placed in the group to which it belonged. 



In other districts the masks are quite different, and 

 made in a different way, though there is nearly always 

 a framework of split bamboo or rattan. Sometimes a 

 grotesque head and face is tightly woven of rattan. 

 This may or may not be painted, or covered with mud 

 or clay. On the north coast over a considerable area, 

 the face is represented by a wooden carving. This 

 may be a close imitation of the human features, or a 

 grotesque caricature of the same. This mask proper 

 is usually fastened to the framework which covers the 

 head so the bearer can look through the eye-holes. 

 This is true in the case of the large feather masks, 

 where the bamboo frame is very high and covered with 

 feathers. This is probably the most striking of all New 

 Guinea types of masks, and may be regarded as a 

 combination of the mask with the ornamental feather 

 head-dresses used in dances, which are often quite 

 large and elaborate, and also vary greatly in different 



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