Tatanua mask

Tatanua face masks are normally carved from lime wood and completed and decorated with fibres from sugar cane, wool and other animal hair. The face is coloured using chalk and other natural dyes. The type with a high headdress are created using a cane framework that was formerly then covered in bark, although later imported fabric was used as the covering. Besides the fabric, some masks also included imported optical brighteners, which made some nominally white areas slightly blue. ==Ceremony==

Tatanua masks are worn by ceremonial dancers and are often a part of New Ireland Malagan rituals. These are funerary religious ceremonies held by the family of the deceased to communicate with deities and to show respect for the deceased. ==Examples==

Examples of this style of mask can be seen in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, the British Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. ==Gallery==

File:Neuirland Maske 17 EthnM.jpg|"Lorr" mask from Kait File:Malanggan Tatanua mask EthnM.jpg|Malagan mask from Northern New Ireland ==See also==