The Power of Symbols - Masks and Masquerade in the Americas (Electronic book text)

This collection of papers, presented at the 42nd International Congress of Americanists, considers the interplay between the mask, the mask bearer, and the audience. The studies concentrate on the idea of masking as a transformational ritual in which the human actor is transformed into a being of another order. The authors use examples from various cultures and in their analyses argue for particular sets of relationships as being crucial to the understanding of the mask.