Maonan people, Guangxi, China

From Huaijiang county, Guangxi Province, this is one of the characters from the Nuo tradition. Nuo is a very old name for exorcising ceremonies meant to drive off pestilence, disease and death. These old ceremonies eventually evolved into dances, and later into operas.

The Maonan share a love of festivals and colorful dress with the Zhuang people, and speak a related language. They are farmers, who grow millet and buckwheat. The Maonan have a population of some 72,000 people most of whom live in Guangxi Autonomous Region. Unfortunately, minority groups are loosing their traditional culture as the Peoples Republic of China modernizes. Soon authentic masks like these will be impossible to find. Nice patina and signs of use.