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Batak Full Head Dance Mask

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Batak Full Head Dance Mask
Hand carved, 23" Tall and 9.5" in diameter, this exquisite Full Head Dance mask is carved from Kayu Laut (Sea Wood), a holy wood of the Batak people. These large masks are carved from a tree trunk and pulled over the head of the dancer. Dances are often performed during burial ceremonies. Usually there are two masks, one representing a man (this mask) and another representing a woman, accompanied by a hornbill or horse's head mask. The masked and costumed dancers make their appearance in front of the deceased persons house to "gondang" accompaniment. In their hands they carry large wooden hands, which are roughly shaped but can have moveable fingers. The mask wearers escort the coffin to the cemetery where they fineally take off their masks and lay them on the grave. Presumably they keep the evil spirits away and accompany the deceased on it's way to the land of the dead. This mask has not been danced. Full Head Dance Masks are fairly rare in the world outside the Batak homeland and are an incredible addition to any Batak Collection. This mask comes with the custom-made stand it's resting on and is in excellant condition. The Batak homeland is the island of Sumatra at the western end of the modern Republic of Indonesia. It's the fifth largest island in the world and many other tribes live there. Batak peoples live in the remote areas of the mountainous highlands and the eastern and western coastal regions. One thousand meters above sea level, the highlands steep valleys and thick forests made the Batak region inaccessible and impenetrable during the period of scientific, missionary and colonial development. Long known to Europe, the Batak have only relatively recently come to the attention of the West. The Batak consist of six ethenic groups, diverse in dialect and historical experience. Although Islam and Christianity have been strong influences, many of the Batak population still follow religious ideas and practices of their ancestors. The Batak are one of the few cannibalistic peoples know to have a sophistacated calendar, written language, and with their gold trade, also a system of numbers. The carvers of the Batak peoples are considered some of the best primitive carvers in the world. The quality of their workmanship and the beauty of their peices bear witness to the talent of the people that produce them.