Description: Head & Facial Mask with an open bird’s beak with nut shells as top decorations. It has horns and three set of ears on each side; the eyeballs are bulging and the lashes are emphasized with carved patterns; the nose is broad and the lips slightly opened in a smile.
Dimensions: H: 94; B:42
Cultural Significance: These types of masks evoke several cultural themes. The first theme evoked is that of death and transmutation. The horns indicate an association between individual death and other living elements of the natural world such as an animal, a bird or a tree. The colour and patterns applied to the body suggest the passage of time. The eyeballs have been removed suggesting death. Similarly, the mouth is open. The two horns projecting out of the head suggest that it is no longer human but undergoing a transmutation into different life-form.