mask

Sepik mask from New Guinea. Masks made by villagers along the Sepik River in New Guinea are generally carved from soft wood (though some are made of clay moulded over a coconut shell) and decorated with shells, pig tusks, and feathers. There are no holes for eyes as few of these masks are meant to be worn directly over the face – some are used for dance costumes, others mainly for display. (Museum of African and Oceanic Art, Paris).

Artificial covering for part or all of the face, or for the whole head, associated with ritual or theatrical performances in many cultures. Theatrical traditions using masks include ancient Greek drama (full head masks), Japanese Nō (facial masks), and the Italian commedia dell'arte (caricatured half-masks). In the 20th century masked performance was re-explored in experimental and mainstream theatrical productions.

In many cultures masks are an important aspect of the religious and social life of the society. They often take the form of animals, sometimes representing totemic ancestors, human beings, or spirits, and can be realistic or abstract. The form of mask is often determined by tradition; in some the mask itself is sacred and is thought to have supernatural powers, in others the wearer is thought to be possessed by the spirit represented by the mask.

Death or funerary masks, made in the likeness of the dead person, are often associated with a belief in the return of the spirit.

The term may also refer to a protective covering for a part of an image, for instance to protect it while spray paint is being applied.

mask

In computing, restriction placed on the type of character that can be entered in a given field of a database or spreadsheet. For example, a ‘dd-mm-yy’ mask will only allow operators to enter a date in the field, and a field operating under a text mask will accept only letters, not numbers. See also validation.

mask

See masque.