Field Museum of Natural History 



DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 

 Chicago, 1922 



Leaflet Number 4 



New Guinea Masks 



( Joseph N. Field Hall, Cases 13, 42, 47, 85, 88 ) 



The use of masks of different kinds, while not 

 universal, is found in certain parts of New Guinea, 

 especially the central portion, both north and south. 

 The masks are used in different ways and for different 

 purposes. Sometimes their use is for purely comic or 

 humorous representations or in imitative dances, but 

 usually they have more or less of a mysterious or 

 religious significance, in that they are supposed to 

 represent spirits or supernatural beings, who for one 

 reason or another are paying a visit to their friends 

 or worshipers. 



Not infrequently the use of masked figures is 

 associated with secret societies, the members of which 

 are in this manner enabled to impose upon the rest of 

 the people for their own selfish interests. In such cases 

 the supernatural element is invoked, and the acts of 

 the maskers are supposed to be sanctioned by the 

 spirits. Even if there is no definitely organized secret 

 society, there is at least a certain group who are on the 

 inside, so to speak, and who are the only ones allowed 

 within the enclosures where the masks are made and 

 kept, and where the preparation for the appearance of 

 the maskers takes place. Very frequently this includes 

 most of the adult male population. 



Often several types of masks may be found among 

 the same people. In certain places on the Papuan Gulf, 

 for example, there are at least three types, whose 

 meaning is entirely different. In one case they are 

 used for amusement, and are not in any way secret, 



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