This Haida mask can be transformed from the outer image of an eagle to the inner image of a supernatural being.This Ritual Mask, used by the Haida people of north-west Canada, was collected in ...

Raiho-shin rituals take place annually in various regions of Japan, on days marking the beginning of the year or a change in season. The rituals stem from folk beliefs that deities (the Raiho-shin) ...

Divination rituals generally involve the diviner holding their ... and therefore also presents a great example of another way in which the divide between animal and human is fluid. Antelope mask with ...

But we use many functional masks, too, often imbuing them with elevated status, whether including charcoal masks in our beauty rituals, associating fire-fighters’ protectors with defiance of ...