UPPER XINGU RIVER MASK
UPPER XINGU RIVER MASK
Probably Wauja (Waurà), Brazil
50 cm. high
An almost identical mask in the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (71.1967.63.6) is attributed to the Wauja or Waurà and its name is recorded as "Pirarara" (the Brasilian name for the red-tailed catfish). As in the present example the teeth of the mask are formed from the jaws of a piranha. According to the museum the mask was used to cure the sick. The mask wearer would chase the shadow or the spirit that caused the disease.
Provenienz
Harald Schultz, anthropologist
Alicia and Gugliemo Rossi, acquired from the above in the 1960s.