Mask

This ceremonial and dance mask features the head of a grimacing man.

The open mouth reveals a series of teeth. A sketchy nose with imposing nostrils.

A prominent forehead topped by round eyes. Engraved lines enhanced with red pigment represent the tattoos found in many Inuit societies.

The mask was used in many types of ritual ceremony and worship. For theangakoq, the shaman with supernatural powers, the face mask was an important accessory when summoning spirits.

The mask was also used after festivals, when the Inuit engaged in more mundane activities such as mime dances, singing and drumming.

These community activities took place during the long winters. They were located in the only room of the large patriarchal house.

These festivities often culminated in a fertility ritual known asuaajeerneq . During these uaajeerneq, the dancers, wearing masks carved from driftwood, would mock the spectators.

This ritual was followed by the more stealthy game of “putting out the lamps”, signifying that an exchange of women was taking place. This was particularly lively when there were visitors from neighboring villages.

Sleeping with another man’s wife was seen as a kind of spiritual act to avoid misfortune, but in practice, it prevented ^{consanguinity1}.
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1- Leif Birger Holmstedt. 2008. Magic masks and figures from Greenland.
Ed Borgen, Copenhagen. Pp. 64-65