Diablada Mask

This mask is used in the dances of the Carnival de Oruro. Long before Spanish settlement, the ancient town of Uru Uru (the pre-hispanic name for Oruro, Bolivia) was a religious destination for the indiginous people of the Andes. The people revered their gods by celebrating Ito; the religious festival from which Carnival is thought to have originated. From the beginning, Spanish priests tried to ban the Uru Uru rituals and traditions. Not wanting to renounce their beliefs, the Indians observed their traditions under the guise of Catholic rituals in order to keep their new overseers happy. The Catholic priests frowned upon this, but tolerated it in order to convert the people to their religion. By the mid 18th century, Andean rituals had morphed into Catholic observances,beginning with the religious celebration we know today as Oruro Carnival. A mix of song, dance, music and costume, Carnival is a complex interlacing of Catholic ideals and ancient pagan wisdom. Carnival not only tells the story of how the Spaniards conquered the native peoples of Bolivia (Aymara and Quechua), but celebrates good versus evil along with the regions rich cultural identity.