Eastern Cherokee Booger Mask

19th Century Eastern Cherokee hand carved booger mask. Of the more than twenty dances known in the history of the Eastern Cherokee of North Carolina do masks come into play. The Booger Dance and accompanying music are traditionally believed to drive away or offer protection against inimical spirits, and those in whom they dwell, striking fear into their hearts, while providing comedic relief for the tribal members. Originally, the masks came to represent other Indian tribes, black African slaves, and white European settlers. Eventually, these masks came to resemble the faces of the white European colonists. Occasionally animal faces – bear, buffalo, deer – appear in the Booger Dance to vary the scene. The animal masks lie in quite a different category from that of the regular Booger masks. They served a magic co-religious purpose in former times before the introduction of firearms. The Cherokee also made masks for hunting, as aids to help them get close to game animals. Their masks boldly emphasized the distinctive features of animals, such as the eyes, ears, nose, or antlers. Booger and animal masks were made of buckeye wood, generally coloured dark red from pigment of red earth of the soil anywhere on the mountain sides of the reservation, a red stain made by boiling sumach berries, or with black stain boiled down from black walnut bark and poke-weed berries. This mask features carved holes on forehead for a dancer's or hunter's eyes,dark and light vegetal stains used to enhance eyes, faded vegetal stain throughout, mouth dark red vegetal stain is mostly intact, scuffing exhibited on mask throughout. Reverse has two nails for hanging with attached cord. 5.875"W x 11.75"L x 3"D