IV. Kamoro masks: process of manufacture

As in many cultures, it is only men who make and use masks, which are prohibited to women and non-initiates. The masks are created in total isolation, by a man who has inherited the right to produce them. It is often an older man who constructs the mask, with the help of pupils or assistants. The latter receive food in exchange for their work.
Unfortunately, we know very little about the actual process of making a mask. A framework of one or more elliptical or circular rattan rings forms the basis for the mask. To this base, the mask-maker fastens a piece, composed of woven fibres taken from the Calamus sp. or Kema in the Kamoro language. Then a rattan cylinder is attached to each side, for the arms. The upper section is fixed to this supporting section, which rests on the torso.
In addition to several kinds of bird feathers, for example those of the cassowary and cockatoo, coix seeds and red string or cotton are used as decoration. The woven head piece is painted with red, black and white pigment, the same colours used on woodcarvings. The white pigment is lime obtained by roasting shells over a fire, which are then pulverised into a fine powder. Mixed with water, this powder forms a white pigment. Red is obtained from ochre-coloured clay, and black, by mixing charcoal with water.
It is not only remarkable that the Kamoro artist has never deviated from the traditional palette of colours; throughout the years, the general form of the masks has also remained more or less the same.

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