Tamoko (Tamok) mask/costume

bark cloth, beeswax, kaolin clay, pigment and palm-frond fibers, mounted on a custom stand

height: approx. 162 cm

Wayana-Aparai people

northern Brazil, Amazon, Mato Grosso region

20^th century

provenance:  collected in the Brazilian Amazon by Jack Daulton

This type of costume is used during the Cumeeira hut-dedication ceremony (also known as the Pono dance). 

"The Tamok represents an evil spirit, a powerful man-eating forest monster associated with illness and death.  But the Pono dance placates Tamok and purifies the village.  It is performed with a large, two-handed whip to make loud cracking sounds.  The Tamok mask's geometrical patterns are reminiscent of the face painting applied to Wayana girls."  D

References:

See Barbara Braun, The Arts of the Amazon (Thames & Hudson, 1995), pg. 84.