NUU-CHAH-NULTH OR MAKAH MASK

Reportedly collected by missionaries in situ in 1854

John Molloy, New York

George Terasaki, New York, acquired from the above

Human facemasks from the Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah region are not as numerous as those of various animal forms, and very early examples such as this one are even more rare. (The Nuu-chah-nulth of west Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Makah people of the far northwestern corner of Washington State share a common language and cultural traditions, and are separated today by an international boundary that did not exist prior to the advent of the US and Canada.) Written information that has descended with this mask identifies its original collectors as missionaries in the period circa 1854. No names of the missionaries or areas of service have survived to suggest where among the Nuu-chah-nulth or Makah villages this mask may have been carved and used. The traditional features of Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah (also called Nootkan) sculptural style are present, however, to confirm this cultural area of the Northwest Coast as the original source of the mask. Stylistically, the carving does appear to be from the first half of the nineteenth century, based on characteristics that appear to be comparatively older than those from masks known to have been made in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

When compared to the appearance of the earliest collected examples from the Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah area, those acquired in the late eighteenth century, this carving exhibits a variety of differences that suggest its creation took place a generation or two later than those oldest masks. Facemasks from the eighteenth-century period are less deeply dimensional and more frontally oriented than this sculpture and many later masks, in which a very strong profile is greatly emphasized. Masks of the eighteenth-century period have generally more naturalistic sculptural features in the face, with a less pronounced dimensional drop from the brow line to the eyesocket area. Those early masks are also largely lacking in painted decoration of the facial surfaces, and often have eyebrows and other facial hair represented by inlaid strips of animal skin with the hair attached.

Like the earlier masks, this example is not painted on the surface with two-dimensional designs in the common style of the late nineteenth century. The simple almond-shaped, pierced eye forms of this mask also differ from later examples, in that they are surrounded only by a wide black outline, and lack the more common trigon-based eyelid line of most masks made in the second half of the century. While the thin, rounded lips appear to have more in common with the more naturalistic early masks, the wide mouth and narrow chin or jaw area of this mask are more in keeping with the sculptural forms of later human form mask carvings. The teeth in this mask follow an earlier style of creation, in which dentition is formed by stringing together pieces of bone or bird quill into a double row of teeth. The ones seen here, formed by bending thin strips of wood that have been cut into tooth shapes and painted black and white, share that concept of a continuous row of teeth. Later masks most commonly have individual pieces of wood fastened into the mouth to represent the teeth.

The articulated lower jaw of this mask is very unusual among Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah humanoid masks. In the Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah tradition, moveable eyes are a more common trait of articulated masks, and many fantastic expanding or opening mask forms were developed by the tum of the twentieth century. Here, the lower jaw has been carefully fitted between the sides of the mouth and upper jaw, and hinged with a wooden pin as the pivot point. With no ready evidence of strings or other mechanical control of the lower jaw, one could conclude that the movement of the wearer’s head or chin controlled the movement of the mouth. In any case, the dramatic effect that the opening and closing mouth would have had during the performances of this mask in a shadowy, firelit house would surely have been most striking. The single stout peg in the center back of the mask would have been the means by which the performer would have held the mask to his face, by biting on its end. This is the most common style of facemask attachment among the Nuu-chah-nulth/Makah, rather than using straps or other forms of ties to the head. Many historical and contemporary descriptions of masked performances mention how a dancer would quickly change from one mask to another, altering identities and appearances along with them. These bite plugs (some of which are formed of twisted spruce root) are a simple and reliable manner of enabling such instantaneous changes of masks. In many cases, such human form masks would represent ancestor spirits, whose beings are called upon for guidance and protection in times of transition and change, at the initiation of a hunting or food gathering season, or when major groups are gathering together for ceremonial observances or trade.

The carved, raised band that encloses the forehead may represent a type of woven headpiece, and has been painted in alternating bands of red and black. The ends of that raised wood section continue down the sides of the head, and most likely constitute a kind of reinforcement for the edges of the mask where the hinging of the lower jaw takes place. Thin shocks of hair attached to strips of skin survive atop the head, and are probably mere remnants of the original provision.

Steven C. Brown