GANESH: Newari mask featured on the Nava Durga festival

Description

Embossed metal, traces of oxidation
the polychromy has disappeared
Newar people
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

the holes around the face, apart from those used to hold the mask in place, were originally used to fasten a protective wad of cloth inside to protect the wearer’s face

the Newars, like the Tharus, have syncretized Buddhism and Hinduism over the centuries, while retaining their worship of anismic deities

the practice of masked dances serves religious, protective and communal purposes
the various gods, spirits and animals invoked during these fascinating and strange ceremonies purify and bind together villages whose existence depends on the benevolence of supra-human entities, or thought as such

the dancers belong to a secret society

the masks themselves (those of Nava Durga as well as those of other sacred dances) are alive and endowed with supernatural powers
they embody the power of the deities they represent
the dancer, as soon as he wears the mask, becomes possessed by the divinity
his own humanity disappears

Hindu tantric priests renew yearly the sacred power of the masks through secret rituals and mantras

the dance of Nava Durga constitutes a worshipful dance rite during which Durga, in her nine forms, defeats the demons (asura)

one of Durga’s other incarnations, Maa Durga (or Parvati, wife of Shiva) is Ganesha Janani – Ganesh’s mother

mint condition

very interesting, uncluttered styling

Dimensions :

24 cm high
20 cm wide
16 cm deep

ref : 81134

¤ HKAN