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Exorcisers' Masks 2008-5-30 16:41:09
The exorcisers' masks are a unique handicraft in Guizhou Province. Fashioned out of wood and tree roots, they range in imagery from the grotesque to the good and genuine. Such masks can be as small as several centimetres and as large as two metres. The exorcising culture of the Miao villages in Guizhou is regarded as a gem in folk Chinese culture.
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The exorcising culture first rise in central China. After it had found its way into Guizhou it was merged with the local shamanism and gave rise to a male exorciser and a female exorciser. The male was the legendary Fu Xi, a Chinese ruler who taught people how to fish, hunt and raise livestock: and the female was Nu Wa, the goddess who created human beings and patched up the sky. As the ancients believed that all the diseases and pains were caused by the onslaught of demons on the human body, so during exorcising rituals they preferred to wear masks that looked as grotesque as possible so as to dispel the ghosts and ward off the evil. The exorcising dance was invented on the basis of shamanist dance for the same purpose. With the passing of time, such dances have taken on an entertaining function. And the exorcising opera is no longer limited to Buddhist or Taoist temples; it could be performed wherever there is an audience. It has become a traditional culture beloved by the people of different ethnic backgrounds in Guizhou.
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