Mask facts for kids
A mask is a type of clothing which covers the face. It is similar to a veil, but more close-fitting.
Uses
There are different reasons why people use masks. A person can use masks so others do not know who they are (as when a robber steals from a bank). Or, a mask may keep someones face safe from harm (like a gas mask so harmful gases do not get into the lungs).
There are many practical uses for masks in everyday life. Mostly, the masks used are semi-masks which cover only the bottom half of the face, the mouth and nose. An example is the use of masks in operating theatres, and by wood-workers. In surgery, the purpose is to keep bacteria off the patient; in wood-working the purpose is to keep wood fibres out of the lungs.
In Venetian masks only the top half of the face is covered, to prevent recognition. Ice hockey masks, used in the Hannibal Lecter movies, cover the whole face to protect it from the hockey puck moving at high speed.
Origin
The word
The word 'mask' might have come from other languages. The French masque, the Italian maschera, the Spanish máscara, the Latin (not classical) mascus/masca (meaning "ghost") or the Arabic maskharah (meaning "jester" or "man in masquerade") all use the same word.
History
One of the oldest masks found is the Death Mask. This stone mask is 9000 years old and is probably the oldest mask in the world. It is kept in Musée de la bible et Terre Sainte, Paris.
There are also three masks from the same period, kept in The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Masks are used in many magical or shamanistic rituals in non-western societies. The celebration or appeasement of animistic spirits takes place with dance and song in ancient performances in many parts of the world. In these events performers use costumes and masks to mimic the supposed spirits.
From this kind of beginning, the use of masks in ancient Greek theatre may have started. The actors and chorus in this early theatre all used masks.
Figurative uses
There are some other uses of the word 'mask', which arise by extension. That means using 'mask' as a metaphor. In film a mask is a screen which cuts out part of the image. In social theory, a mask is the behaviour a person takes on in his role or job. Thus policemen, head teachers, army commanders, prime ministers act as they are expected to act (most of the time). The inference is that behind the mask is the 'real' person. Their role is a mask. As a verb, 'to mask' means to cover or hide.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Papierkrattler masks at the Narrensprung 2005 Carnival parade, Ravensburg, Germany
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The so-called 'Mask of Agamemnon', a 16th-century BC mask discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae, Greece. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
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Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Mosaic, Roman mosaic, 2nd century AD
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Batak mask dance at a funeral feast in the Dutch East Indies, 1930s
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Masks of Cameroon
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Fang mask used for the ngil ceremony, an inquisitorial search for sorcerers. Wood, Gabon, 19th century.
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Asaro mudman holding mask, Papua New Guinea
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Kwakwaka'wakw ritual mask (painted wood, fiber, and cord)
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Aztec mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, c. 1500, of Mixtec-Aztec provenance
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A Peking opera mask
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Sanxingdui Bronze Mask with Protruding Eyes, Shu
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Mask of Tengu
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A Korean mask worn by a Talchum performer
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A Venetian carnival mask
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Iranian surgical technologist with surgical mask
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A white mask
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Protective reusable filter mask worn by NYPD officer
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A rib knit three-hole balaclava allows the wearer to protect the face against cold air or hinder recognition.
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Members of Anonymous wear Guy Fawkes masks while protesting against the Church of Scientology. 2008, London.
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An American footballer wearing a mask that protects his face from another player's hand.
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A medieval "Mask of Shame".
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Man with facepaint which simulates a half-sided mask on Halloween
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Kwakwaka'wakw, Baleen Whale Mask, 19th century, Brooklyn Museum
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A Cherokee ceremonial mask made of wood
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Various Balinese topeng dance masks
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Fools Meeting or Parade, Meßkirch, Germany
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Dance Mask (Takü), 20th century, Brooklyn Museum; These full-body masks are worn for the mourning, or ónyo ("weeping"), ceremony, a multi-day ritual held approximately a year after an individual's death
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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen wearing a surgical mask during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Life mask of Ludwig van Beethoven, c. 1812. The Wellcome Collection, London
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Life mask of Abraham Lincoln by Leonard Volk in 1860.
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Mask wearing customers in downtown Budapest.
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See also
In Spanish: Máscara para niños
