Old wooden wrathful spirit mask with beads, metal plating and yak hair #1

In Himalayan regions, images of freightening faces of wrathful spirits and deities can be found everywhere at the entrances of temples and homes. Being the physical houses for these wrathful entities, masks such as these are obviously not seen as mere decorational pieces on the wall. They are regularly fed with offerings from ghee, wodka, milk or incense smoke.

In both (Tibetan) Buddhism and (Shaivist) Hinduism, they often represent the images of the fierce, wrathful aspects or forms of buddha's, bodhisattva's, deva's and deities (beings that have thus both a peaceful, friendly appearance and a forceful, horrifying form). In Tibetan Buddhism they can also be the images of dharmapala's; spirits and gods originating in the Tibetan pre-buddhist indigenous Bon-tradition, that are said to be 'tamed' by Padmasambhava in the 8th century CE and then sworn an oath to protect the buddhist dharma ever since.

The wrathful deities are portrait as terrifying, demonic-looking beings, often further adorned with gruesome ritual attributes and symbolic decorations such as (human) bones and skulls and other items associated with the charnel grounds.

But as terrifying as they might appear, they actually are often driven by compassion. They are very strong and powerful protectors and guides for those on the path to enlightenment, embodying the power and force needed to go forward and overcome and transform all obstacles on the way. They fight against all kinds of demons and evil and in Tibetan Buddhism especially against the enemies of Buddhism. 

But not always are these freightening faces specifically to be associated with the wrathful aspect of an identifiable deity. They can also be more ‘random’, general, anonymous wrathful faces working from the age old adage of “scaring away evil forces with an even more terrifying and forceful one”. And because the depictions of these more general wrathful spirits are of course not bound to the restrictions of the iconography of a certain specific deity, their depictions often consist of the most gruesome details their artist could come up with; the most demonic facial expressions combined with sharp teeth, a devilish pair of horns, skull ornaments etc.

Images from wrathful deities and spirits have also found their way into some classical shamanic lineages, such as the lineage of Spirit of Wolf. Here they are also associated with Erlik Han, Lord of the Underworld, and as such mostly used by black shamans.

This absolutely excquisite mask comes from Nepal. It has been made from a natural dark hard wood, which has been treated with natural pigments to attain an even darker color. It has been decorated with rudraksha, ritta and conch shell beads, bundles of yak hair, gold painted accents and brass plating. The horns and teeth are made of real animal material.

As can be seen on the picture of the backside, this mask has a thick fabric lining and a band that can be worn around the head. These masks are sometimes worn by specialized actors or dancers during certain festivals or ceremonial activities. But masks such as this are considered much more than just a beautiful dress-up item. They are considered to really embody the essence of the spirit or deity they resemble, thus making a full shapeshift with this character possible for the one wearing it during performance.

These masks are considered true spirit houses and also treated as such when they are 'off duty' for shorter or longer time. They are then hung in houses or temples, where they serve mostly for protection against all kinds of evil and are of course regularly fed offerings such as incense, ghee, wodka and milk, which over time gives them a beautiful dark and glossy patina. 

Sizes; approximately 36 centimeters high (measured including the horns) and 24 centimeters wide. This mask is quite an old one already, but considering its age it is still in very good condition.