"^°NJ!'*74f*^' IROQUOIS MASKS AT ONONDAGA — HENDRY 367 



Besides the masks, they wear old, torn clothes which they sometimes 

 stuff with tin pans to make them more grotesque. Each member 

 carries a rattle of turtle, horn, or bark, while the leader, who is oc- 

 casionally disguised as a woman, has a giant turtle rattle and a long 

 staff to which miniature masks are attached. The third appearance of 

 the False Faces occurs during the New Year's Festival, when they 

 petition the Hodo'wi to withdraw the sickness for which these spirits 

 have been responsible dm-ing the past year. Again they blow ashes, 

 dance to the accompaniment of rattles, and beg for tobacco. Several 

 False Faces, known as Doorkeepers, prevent anyone from leaving the 

 ceremonies, and those who refuse to dance are thrown down, rubbed 

 with ashes, and subjected to other indignities. Fen ton has pointed 

 out that individual talent in dancing and acting constitutes much of 

 the effectiveness of these rituals. When an Iroquois dons a mask he 

 behaves as if he were the supernatural being which he represents, 

 acquiring its powers and dramatizing its attributes. He may even 

 come to believe that he is that being and while the phenomenon of 

 possession, a widespread psychological effect of masking, is probably 

 rare among the modern Iroquois, cases have occurred within the 

 memory of the present generation (Fen ton, 1941, p. 422). 



In ancient times carving was itself a religious ceremony sur- 

 rounded by rituals and taboos. Masks were hewn from the trunk of 

 a living tree in order that they, too, might be alive and contain the 

 spiritual qualities attributed to the World Tree, symbol of peace 

 and unity. Basswood was preferred because its fibers were ab- 

 sorbent and were considered to have remedial virtues. Having se- 

 lected a tree, the carver burned tobacco at its roots, related the legend 

 of the first False Face, and asked the tree for its life. The mask 

 was then outlined, the features roughly blocked out, and the piece 

 split away from the trunk. If the mask did not break and the bass- 

 wood remained unshaken, it was proof that the tree had acquiesced 

 to the appeal for its life. Sexual continence on the part of the carvers 

 was necessary for a period both before and after the ceremony at which 

 no ritually unclean person was allowed to be present. 



This method of carving has not been preserved by the modern 

 Iroquois and today the curative powers are imparted to the masks 

 after the technical processes have been completed. In a ceremony 

 called "doctoring," tobacco is burned, a bag of it is attached to 

 each mask, and the appropriate words are spoken over them. This 

 constitutes the initiation of the carvings into the False Face Society. 



Once the masks have been initiated they have spiritual powers 

 that make them dangerous if they are not treated with great care and 

 respect. They do not like to be neglected, and unless they are used 

 frequently they must be talked to, fed mush, and annointed with sun- 



