page_title: Mexican mask-folk art
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mexican mask-folk art / History
caption_attribution_description: Mesoamerican mosaic mask in the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. This artwork is in the public domain because the artist died more than 70 years ago. Photography was permitted in the museum without restriction.
context_page_description: Mexican mask-folk art refers to the making and use of masks for various traditional dances and ceremony in Mexico. Evidence of mask making in the country extends for thousands of years and was a well-established part of ritual life in Mexico when the Spanish arrived. In the early colonial period, evangelists took advantage of native customs of dance and mask to teach the Catholic faith although later, colonial authorities tried to ban both unsuccessfully. After Independence, mask and dance traditions showed a syncretism and mask traditions have continued to evolve into new forms, depicting Mexico's history and newer forms of popular culture such as lucha libre. Most traditional masks are made of wood, with others made from leather, wax, cardboard, paper mache and other materials. Common depictions in masks include Europeans, Afro-Mexicans, old men and women, animals, and the fantastic/supernatural, especially demons/the Devil.
context_section_description: The use of masks and costumes was an important part of Mesoamerican cultures for long before the arrival of the Spanish. Evidence of masks made with bone thousands of years old have been found at Tequixquiac, State of Mexico. These masks had various uses but always in connection to ceremony and ritual especially in theatrical dance and processions. Masks were used by high priests to incarnate deities. Jaguar and eagle warriors dressed themselves like these animals in order to gain their strengths. Funeral masks were reserved to the burials of the very elite such as that of King Pakal and were works of art, made of jade, shell, obsidian, hematite and other precious materials of the time. Masks used in theatrical performances and dances varies widely from the various animals of the Mesoamerican world, to those of old men and women generally for comedic relief to those designed to make fun of neighboring ethnic groups. Some of the ancient masks made of stone or fired clay have survived to the present. However, most were made of degradable materials such as wood, amate paper, cloth and feathers. Knowledge of these types comes from codices, depictions on sculptures and the writings of the conquering Spanish. Indications also exist with the survival of a number of dances from the pre- Hispanic period such as Tecuanes, Tigres and Tlacololeros.
  After the Conquest of the Aztec Empire, a number of Spanish historians noted indigenous religious rituals and ceremonies including those that used masks. The Spanish banned pre Hispanic religion but the evangelizers used the cultures’ propensity for masks and spectacle to propagate the new faith, through plays and dance. New dances evolved from the mystery plays and allegorical dramas used by evangelists. One of the most important was a pageant that reenacted the battles between Christians and Moors, which used masks to imitate the Moors. This dance was rapidly adopted by the indigenous and performed in indigenous languages. Other masked dances developed in relation to Holy Week, Day of the Dead and the Conquest of Mexico, as well as Carnival, a European festival introduced by the Spanish. The masks for characters such as Hernán Cortés, La Malinche, shepherds, devils, kings developed and became very diverse. Little is known about masks from the colonial era, but at least some came from the same workshops that produced saint images, which had sophisticated and realistic depictions of faces. Others were mostly likely made by those who sold or rented costumes to performers. Some may have been made by the dancers themselves. The developing dances and other masked events became part of a syncretism of Catholic and native traditions and belief, especially Carnival and Holy Week, with the first coinciding with the Aztec New Year and new agricultural cycle. In addition, many of the masks developed during this time mocked colonial overlords. For these reasons, a various times, masks and dances were forbidden by authorities from the 16th to 18th centuries.
  Despite these prohibitions, masked celebrations survived until Independence, when Mexican Inquisition laws were completely repealed. What remained were a number of indigenous practices overlaid with Catholic and other European traditions. While traditional hand-crafted indigenous masks were not held in high esteem, in Mexican cities of the 19th century, the buying of masks and costumes at stores was done, especially for Carnival.
  After the Mexican Revolution a number of aspects of traditional Mexican life became revalued, including traditional and rural handcrafts. Today, masked festivals and dances are most prevalent in areas of the country with large concentrations of indigenous peoples. Sophisticated masks made by saint makers still can be found in the states of Tlaxcala, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Michoacán, but in most areas masks are made by lesser craftsmen. Past history and customs live on in traditional dances. These include the Conquest, Independence, and the Battle of Puebla, using masked characters.
  Today, most mask use is related to
caption: Mask from Teotihuacan at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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