Tago mask (E1904)

Tami Island, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Wood, red ochre, black paint, lime - Tago masks represent the ghosts of important ancestors. Every 10 to 12 years, a year-long series of ceremonies remind each clan of its ancestral connections, with two major performances celebrating the arrival and departure of the ghosts. When men wear the tago mask, a taboo is placed on all coconuts for one year and there must be peace in the village.