Masks and Headgear of Native American Ritual/Theatre on the Northwest Coast

Abstract

There has been theatre in North America for hundreds of years. The range of ceremonies and performance events is as vast and varied as the hundreds of languages native to the continent. This vast range of performances may be the reason theatre scholars have not yet established the different genres of Native American Theatre as they have those of European and Asian theatre forms. Folk puppets, grand opera, realistic drama, and temple dances have been organized as varieties of theatrical traditions, while Native American performances have been relatively overlooked by theatre historians. Without the guidelines of such genres, this article will approach the Native American theatre/rituals by focussing on the masks and headgear made for performance by the Northwest Coast Indian people. This headgear ranges from war helmets to shamans' masks. It communicates significant ideas about social status and prestige through the performer's intentions, from the presentation of Self to the transformation into an Other.