Mask for use by shaman of Western Region Inuit on Nunivak Island, Alaska

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This elaborate Inuit shaman's mask was worn during ceremonies and festivals. Carved by a shaman, and used when communing with the spirit world or visiting the land of the dead, the mask expresses the spiritual forces controlling people's lives.

The wooden mask shows a double-faced human, holding a fish and possibly a paddle in its mouths. Four projecting struts support two wooden hoops, and attached to these are a variety of objects, including feathers, miniature hands, legs, webbed feet, fish and seals.

Inuit shamans - people believed to have supernatural powers, and trained for many years - are important as mediators between the living and the spirit worlds, responsible for the community's health and spiritual welfare.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-104-674-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1937.236
• Date: Date of manufacture unknown; acquired 1937
  
• Material: Mask
  
• Dimensions: 23.00" L
  
• What: Mask
  
• Subject: Masks and magic
  
• Who:
• Where: USA, Alaska, Nunivak Island
  
• Event:
• Description: Grotesque, painted human mask of wood with sticks projecting from it to which are attached two wooden rings mounted with a variety of carved wooden objects: Inuit, Nunivak Island
  
• References:
  • J Blodgett, The Coming and Going of the Shaman - Eskimo Shamanism and Art, 1979. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: