Inc. Tatanua is a visual metaphor for maile power and aggressiveness among the New Irelanders of Melanesia A s humans we base our identities on our bodies. A mask is any device which wholly or partially conceals the face. Masks allow us to pretend, and much more. When a child puts o a vampire costume, you can bet that sometime, somewhere, someone's going to get bitten. For a brief period of time a five-year old has taken on the power and persona of a legendary Transylvanian Count.
Masks transform adults in a similar way.
The Diablada masquerade is performed by the Aymara people of Bolivia on important festival occasions such as All Saint's M asking has been around for at least 20,000 years. Images painted on cave walls in southern France depict human bodies with animal heads. Certainly, masking is closely associated with shamanistic performance in Asia, North America, and Africa, but archaeologists and art historians can only speculate about the purpose and meaning of these masked representations. M ore conclusive evidence of a masking tradition is found at a site in the Sahara Desert dating to 10,000 years ago. A masking tradition also existed in prehistoric Europe between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago.