Vintage, Danced, Ethnographic, Yaqui Indian Pascola Dance Mask, Sonora, Mexico

Description

Vintage, Danced, Ethnographic, Yaqui Indian Pascola Dance Mask, Sonora, Mexico.Danced, used, Ethnographic, mask with patina - ca 1980s. Hand carved. See pictures. Any questions please feel free to contact me and don't assume.
The Mayo Indians are an indigenous group living in the Río Mayo valley in Southern Sonora and the Río Fuerte valley in Northern Sinaloa, Mexico
Their tradition of mask carving goes back more than a century.
The pascola is the "old man of the fiesta" that is the literal translation of the Yaqui word Pahko'ola.
He is at once the old man, wise, and the clown who keeps the participants entertained throughout the ceremony.
The ceremony does not start until he enters the ramada and it ends with him giving a closing "sermon."
The hair depicts the old man - but ironically the Yaquis/Mayos like most indigenous men in N. America do not have much facial hair.
As with many Mexican and Guatemalan traditions, the Mayo's are depicting the hairy Europeans that conquered the area a few hundred years before.
The masks that have been produced in this region usually depict males with a goat or horse hair beard and long eyebrows which cover the face.
Pascola masks almost always exhibit a cross on the forehead. (i.e. The absence of a cross usually indicates that the mask was made for a tourist.)