IV. Kamoro masks: the cap-shaped masks

We are not familiar with any indigenous name given to the helmet-shaped mask type, which is found more often in the interior of the region, and especially in the east. In the literature, this mask is known by the general term of mbii-kao.

Since Pouwer ^[40] observed such a mask lying in the village, open to the general view, he concluded that this mask possessed a lesser degree of secrecy than the other form of mask, the mamakoro. Yet little is known about this type of mask; no information is available concerning the meaning of its public appearance or its exact function.

A letter from Father Zegwaard allows us to conclude that these masks play a role in a feast of the dead. This is called watani-kame (literally translated as 'mortuary'), and takes place after bereavement.
This purpose of this ritual is to demonstrate respect for the deceased, and to take leave of him in a suitable manner. The deceased is temporarily buried, or placed on a scaffold to hasten the process of decay, and to enable the bones to be retrieved later on. During this phase of being laid out or buriaed, tribute is paid to the dead, while masked figures are habitually present in great numbers. The Watani-kame reaches its climax when the bones of the deceased person are collected, and are finally stored in woven bags in the ceremonial house.

This ceremony introduces the Emakame feast, the eastern counterpart of the western Kaware feast. ^[41]

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