Mawa (turtle shell mask)
Artist
Patrick Thaiday
Date1993
Object number00018102
NameMask
MediumTurtle shell, leather, paint, rope, grass fibre
Dimensions950 mm, 0.25 kg
Display Dimensions: 65 x 260 x 1170 mm
Display Dimensions: 65 x 260 x 1170 mm
ClassificationsCeremonial artefact
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThe carapace of Waru, turtle, is used throughout the Torres Strait to make Mawa or masks for ceremony, including in dance and other rituals. This Mawa is made from two carapaces that have been shaped and sewn together with leather thong.The face of the mask is carved in etched lines filled with white paint. Hair and a beard are represented by unravelled grass or rope fibre. Patrick Thaiday' s contemporary Mawa (Turtle shell mask)
was made on Iama, (Yam Island), Torres Strait in 1993.
HistoryIntricate masks and figures made from plates of turtle-shell are unique to the peoples of the Torres Strait, which lies between Australia and New Guinea. Used primarily during male initiation and at funerary rituals, the masks represent mythical culture heroes and their associated totemic species. Some masks represent human forms, others depict birds, fish, or reptiles, and masks such as this one combine the features of both humans and animals.SignificanceThis turtle shell mask is known by its local name, 'Waru'. It is designed and used in dance ceremonies in the Torres Strait.Turtle-shell masks in the western Torres Strait reportedly were used during funerary ceremonies and increase rites (rituals designed to ensure bountiful harvests and an abundance of fish and game). The ceremonies often involved performances in which senior men, wearing the masks together with rustling costumes of grass, reenacted events from the lives of culture-heroes, drawn from local oral tradition.
