{"id":16644,"date":"2020-10-28T10:39:54","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T14:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/hudsonmuseum\/?page_id=16644"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:34:13","slug":"activity-3-belief","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/hudsonmuseum\/teacher-resources\/anthropology-study-unit\/adventures-in-anthropology-program\/activity-3-belief\/","title":{"rendered":"Activity 3 – Belief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most cultures in the world, both past and current day, have beliefs about the how the world works. Rituals and stories are ways we express and teach these beliefs.  These rituals and stories are often accompanied by the creation and utilization of masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every mask has a story behind it and a reason why it was created.  For example, the three masks in the center of the picture below are from the Northwest Coast of the United States.  They depict characters from stories important to Northwest Coast cultures and help to illustrate these stories.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Masks
(Left to right) Tsonoqua mask (HM3234<\/a>), Tsimshian sun mask (HM5481<\/a>), Tlingit hawk mask (HM5485<\/a>), Indonesian Rangda mask (HM4928<\/a>).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The “whistling” black mask<\/a> on the left represents the tale of the Old Woman of the Forest who was said to eat young children who wandered into the wilds alone.  She is described as an old woman with long, scraggly hair.  Does this story sound familiar?  Many cultures had stories designed to teach children not to do dangerous things like wander off into the woods alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun mask<\/a> in the middle represents the myth of the Raven stealing the sun.  This story explains how the sun, moon, and stars were placed in the heavens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some masks were for more than simply communicating stories.  On the right is a Rangda mask<\/a> from the island of Bali in Indonesia.  Rangada is an old woman with scraggly hair who eats children.  The Balinese people believe masks such as this one transform their wearers.  They use these masks in elaborate rituals to symbolically represent the battle between good and evil.<\/p>\n\n\n