Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca

9 inches long, painted wood

Negrito masks are used in the Danza de Los Tejorones and several other dances throughout Mexico. The color black was associated with a number of powerful deities in the Prehispanic pantheon. When the Spanish conquerors imported African slaves to work in their mines and plantations, they were regarded by many of the local Indians as superhuman figures posessing magical powers. Negrito masks are often modeled after real African-Mexicans, and in this one you can see an especially broad nose. Large lips are more frequently used.