BULL. 30] 



MASON S RUINS 



815 



beak, with teeth projected atrio;ht angles, 

 about 24 incheH; the head was hollowed 

 out to admit a small lamji which shone 

 through the holes representing the eyes; 

 below the slender neck, on the breast, 

 was a human face. The shaman who 

 fashioned this mask stated that once when 

 he was alone on the tundra he saw a sand- 

 hill crane standing and looking at him. 

 As he approached, the feathers on the 

 breast of the bird parted, revealing the 

 face of the bird's inua. In certain cere- 

 monies women wore masks upon the fin- 

 ger of one hand. "The mask festival 

 was held as a thanksgiving to the shades 

 and powers of earth, air, and water for 

 giving the hunters success." (Nelson in 

 18th Rep. B. A. E., 1899.) 



In the N., on the Pacific coast, in the 

 S. W., among some of the tribes of the 

 plains, and among proljably ail the east- 

 ern tribes, including the ancient pile 

 dwellers of Florida, masks made of wood, 

 basketry, pottery, or hide were carved, 

 jiainted, and orna- 

 mented with shell, 

 bark fiber, hair, or 

 feathers. They might 

 be either male or fe- 

 male. The colors 

 used and the designs 

 carved or painted 

 were always sym- 

 bolic, and varied with 

 the mythology of the 

 tribe. Frequently tlie 

 mask was provided 

 with aninteriordevice 

 by which the eyes or 

 the mouth could be 

 opened or closed, and 

 aonietimes the differ- 

 ent i)arts of tlie mask 

 were so hinged as to give the wearer power 

 to change its aspect to represent the move- 

 ment of the myth that was being cere- 

 monially exemplified. "With the sacred 

 masks there were prescribed methods for 

 consecration, handling, etc.; for instance, 

 among the Hopi they were put on or off 

 only with the left hand. This tribe, ac- 

 cording to Fewkes, also observed rites of 

 bodily purification before painting the 

 masks. 8ome of the latter were a simple 

 face covering, sometimes concealing only 

 the forehead; to others was attached a 

 helmet, symbolically painted. The Hopi 

 made their masks of leather, cloth, or 

 basketry, and adorned them with ap- 

 pendages of wood, bark, hair, woven 

 fabrics, feathers, herl)s, and bits of gourd 

 which were taken off at the close of the 

 ceremony and deposited in some sacred 

 place or shrine. The mask was not al- 

 ways worn; in one instance it was car- 

 ried on a pole by a hidden man. Altars 

 were formed by masks set in a row, and 



Tlingit Comp 



(N'BLACK ) 



sacred meal was sprinkled upon them. 

 The mask of the plumed serpent was 

 spoken of as "quiet"; it could never be 

 used for any purpose other than to repre- 

 sent this mythical creature; nor could it 

 be repainted or adapted to any other pur- 

 pose, as was sometimes done with other 

 masks. Masks were sometimes spoken 

 of as kachinas, as many of them repre- 

 sented these ancestral and mythical be- 

 ings, and the youth who put on such a 

 mask was temporarily transformed into 

 the kachina represented. Paint rubbed 

 from a sacred mask was regarded as effi- 

 cacious in prayer, and men sometimes 

 invoked their masks, thanking them for 

 services rendered. Some of the Hopi 

 masks are very old; others are made new 

 yearly. Certain masks belong to certain 

 clans and are in their keeping. No child 

 not initiated is allowed to look upon a 

 kachina with its mask removed, and cer- 

 tain masks must never be touched by 

 pregnant women. Among the Hopi also 

 a mask was placed over the face of the 

 dead; in some instances it was a mere 

 covering without form, in others it was 

 made more nearly to fit the face. "A thin 

 wad of cotton, in which is punched holes 

 for the eyes, is laid upon the face . . . 

 and is called a rain-cloud, or prayer to 

 the dead to bring the rain." (Few^kes in 

 15th Rep. B. A. E., 1897.) 



Young people sometimes indulged in 

 festivities and made queer masks with 

 which to disguise themselves; for ex- 

 ample, masks of bladder or rawhide 

 representing the head of the Thunder- 

 bird were made by the boys of the poorer 

 classes among some of the Siouan tribes 

 when the thunder was first heard in the 

 spring. Covering their heads and faces 

 with the masks, the boys proceeded to 

 their uncles' tents and, imitating the 

 sound of thunder, struck the doorflaps 

 with sticks. Then with much merriment 

 at the expense of the boys the uncles in- 

 vited them in and gave them jiresents of 

 leggings, moccasins, or blankets. On the 

 N. W. coast masks were occasionally made 

 as toys for the amusement of children. 

 But genei'ally the mask was a serious rep- 

 resentation of tribal beliefs, and all over 

 the country the fundamental idea em- 

 bodied in it seems to have been that 

 herein descrilied. 



In addition to the authorities cited, 

 consult Boas in Rep. Nat. Mus. for 1895; 

 Dall in 3d Rep. B. A. E., 1884; Dorsey 

 and Yoth in Field Columb. J\Ius. Pub. 

 nos. 55, 66, 1901, 1902; Matthews in Mem. 

 Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.,vi, 1902; Nelson in 

 18th Rep. B. A., E., 1899. (a. c. f.) 



Mason's Ruins. A small ruined house 

 group, so named by Lumholtz (Unknown 

 Mex., I, 48, 1902) from a ^lexican mem- 

 ber of his expedition; situated on the end 



