Masks in Serbia

One chooses a mask that fits one’s personality so that a mask reveals the inner being of an individual; it can ensure or deprive its wearer of power.

By Dr Vesna Marjanović
Photo by Aleksandar Dragutinović
& Courtesy of Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade

Ancient peoples, our ancestors included, believed that a mask is equivalent to a face. It provided illusion (i.e. it took upon the spirit of an ancestor, deity or a demon and, as a medium, it was helpful in this earthly world). Over time, the mythical aspect has faded away, as has any relationship with cults of ancestors, agrarian gods or demons. The mask’s link with bygone times is that it still creates the illusion of equality – wearing a mask makes all people equal – the rich and poor, old and young, men and women.

In Serbia, masks are mostly handmade. They can be made of wood, gourd, horn, leather, fur, paper, cardboard, cloth, and in the late decades of the 20^th century, masks are available ready-made and can be bought in bookshops in all the larger cities in Serbia or abroad.

The oldest masks, used in rituals, are zoomorphic masks. In all probability they were created in harmony with the totem animal, man’s animal ancestor to represent cosmic and spiritual principles and power. Originally they were closely connected with agrarian demons and gods of fertility. The majority of zoomorphic masks were adorned with horns as a symbol of strength and power. The most frequent figures included the stag, goat, sheep, stark, bear, and wolf.

The mask of a stag can be seen in many processions throughout Europe. In Serbia it is most common in the southeastern parts of the Banat region and in northeastern Serbia. It is used in carols held in by Serbs, Romanians and Hungarians in Debeljača (Banat). The Roma and Bulgarians in southern Banat also wear them in carnivals. No less important are other zoomorphic figures, such as the goat or ram.

Masks of sheep or ram are quite rare, but can be sometimes be seen in the southern Banat region.

The bear mask has a long tradition in rituals among almost all Slavic peoples. It is believed that carrying the mask of a bear in traditional processions in carnivals has its origin in old Balkan and other ancient cults (its heritage is connected with Artemis the Bear). The cult of the bear is connected with old Serbian mythology in which the bear occupies the place of the God of Grain and was connected with the Slavic God Volos/Veles, to whom rituals were dedicated on St. Andreia (Andrews) Day (December 13^th) and the Visitation of the Virgin (February 15^th).

Among the most archaic masks in the wider Balkan region, Serbia included, are the anthropomorphic-zoomorphic masks. These masks are typical for cattle-breeding societies and their line of distribution is very large. They are found on the outskirts of the Alp-Carpathian- Balkan mountain system. This type of mask includes those from northern Bačka (buše) that Hungarians carry in their carnival processions, and they are characteristic in southern parts of the Banat region – Grebenac, Straža (masks of ox), in the processions of fašangas among Romanians and Serbs and farther on in Bulgaria, and in the region of Leskovačka Morava they are used in Serbian processions of surovars and koledars. The common characteristic is an anthropomorphic face with added animal attributes, mostly horns.

Anthropomorphic archaic figures mostly include an old woman and old man, a bride and groom. In both cases they are disguised men. Today, this presents the most remarkable form of sex inversion – man into woman (old woman/bride) and woman into man (old man/groom). The face is either blackened or red-tinted, or something is put on the mask, like glasses, a growth and the like. Anthropomorphic figures frequently carry masks made of paper. Grotesqueness is created through exaggeration that takes on the most fantastic dimensions in presenting man’s look.

Fantasy masks belong to the world of mythic-legendary-fairylike figures and the world of fantasy (dragons, Cyclops, dinosaurs, two-headed dragons etc.). Man’s fascination with imaginary beings in time was conveyed to the world of children and the mask brought forth another aspect of reality. They express man’s alter ego, man’s subconscious and the projection of the unknown.

Ergomorphic masks are masks that generally copy the look of objects from everyday life (barrel, hat, cube, stove, Dinar, ice cream). They appear in carnival processions (Vojvodina) and profane masked balls (in urban environments). These masks can be seen in the advertising rituals of our time. Many figures in the shape of an object walk along the streets – like detergents, shampoos, motor oil containers etc.

The majority of today’s forms of masks moves in another direction and is united with people from other cultures at a moment when they want it by their own will.