Arup Saikia
(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)
The use of masks dates back to prehistoric times. The Greeks and Romans initially used masks. Historically or formally, the use of masks dates back more than two thousand years. Even before the Greeks, the nomadic people wore masks while hunting or feasting around fire. The first use of a mask was done for protection while hunting. The savage people also wore masks in rituals. These masks are prepared from the skulls of animals. Masks were the first pieces of jewellery worn by humans. The masks are worn by people to communicate with or be present in their respective society or class. Jungle-loving Africans used masks for nature’s worship (animism). Masks are symbolised in African society as supernatural objects to communicate with divinity, ancestors, etc. So, masks are used for decoration and religious purposes as well. The wearer of a particular mask or skull is treated as a genuine form of the mask’s character in African society. This way, the origin or budding of mask theatre emerged. But many masks were found in tribal houses (including Deka Chang, Morang Ghar, etc.) in Assam and the north-eastern region.
MUKHA (MASK) IN BHAONA: The time of the creation of the Bhaona is very old. The people were mostly illiterate. The presentation of Bhaona is purpose-oriented, i.e., to teach people about the simplified way of worshiping. To denounce religious malpractices and accept humanistic brotherhood and equality is the main motto of Sankardeva’s Bhaona. So, a mask is used to properly depict the characters among the ignorant people. The masks send a strong signal to the audience. While the original identity of the wearer is hidden, the unnatural look of the character is what people see in astonishment. As a result, the character draws the proper attention, as expected. Generally, the masks of unnatural characters are manufactured. These are God, Goddess, Angel, Monster, Snake, Animals, etc. The “rasas” (emotional flavour) of a drama are more and less depicted through the masks. The dramatic “rasas” are classified by the Sanskrit Natya Shastra as follows: shringara (erotic), rudra (wrathful), karuna (sorrow, compassionate), hasya (comedic), bhayankara (horrible), adbhuta (astonishing), and bibhatsa (odious). The “rasas” are represented by the characters in performing arts. Other forms of art—music, painting, sculpture, and drawing—also invoke the above-mentioned “rasas,” whichever is deemed appropriate. The “rasas” are interrelated. It is difficult to precisely distinguish some differences. The Bhaona mask, or theatre, is also an aesthetic journey of drama. The conceptual foundation or groundwork of expression is very simply dictated by the mask. This is the main requirement of a mask in acting.
REDISCOVERY OF MASKS & COLOUR: The first mask in Assamese drama was used by none other than Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva in his pantomime play “Chihna Yatra(around 1468). Sankardeva himself demonstrated the process of making masks. Ram Charan Thakur vividly described the presentation of masks in “Guru Charit.” It is said that the first mask Sankardeva utilised was manufactured with bamboo. The most prominent masks Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva manufactured are ”Anant Sarya,” four heads of Lord Brahma, bird Garuda (the vehicle of Lord Krishna), etc. The four heads of Lord Brahma represent the four Vedas.”Anant Sarya” is a spiritually very effective scene, depicted as visual art in “Chihna Yatra.” Lord Krishna and Goddess Lakshmi are sitting on the lap of a hooded snake in the midst of the ocean. However, the masks found in Assamese tribal houses were made of animals’s skulls, wood, tree bark, etc. With the spreading and growth of Bhaona, mask-making became a small-scale indigenous industry. A class of mask artists was thus created. Initially, natural herbal products were applied for colourful decoration. “Hengul” and “Haithal” were the most common paints at that time. The people of Assam homely call it the “Hengul-Haithali” painting. It is a mixture of vermilion, minerals, white soil, yellow orpiment, etc. Charcoal and ashes are used for the black colour. The ashes of the dry bottle gourd and black plum are also black. Some herbs, tree leaves, and flowers are also collected for different natural colours. These are plastered on the outer cover of a mask to make it look desirable. The gum is extracted from the seed of a wood apple. “Hengul” and “Haithal” are used separately for the red and yellow colors. “Hengul-Haithali” is an admixture of the above-mentioned ingredients. The dry materials are ground on a stone plate. After transformation into a powdery form, a little water is mixed step by step. A small bowl is created in the middle of the stone plate. So, that would be liquid paint deposited in the hole. The shine of the colour depends on the perfect grinding. To add more shine, the yolk of the egg is also mixed. Nearly one month is required to process the paint. The round bamboo tube is used to preserve the liquid paint. To paint a big mask, cotton clothes or single cotton were used. The feathers of birds and the tails of animals were substituted for brushes. The feather brush was used for finishing touches on ears, noses, lips, eyes, etc. These materials are now not easily available and are time-consuming as well. Nowadays, the availability of chemical paints is very cost-effective and minimises the physical labour of manufacturers. So the Assamese glory “Hengul-Haithali” is almost obsolete now. The easily available different colours help to make a variety of stylish masks.
MAKEUP OF MASKS: The masks are decorated like an actor. Even sometimes, the makeup of masks is more difficult because they are lifeless objects. The divine characters like God and Goddess are more difficult to sustain in their original imaginary form for smooth finishing. Crowns, ornaments, and other decorative items have to be adjusted minutely to match the character. On the other hand, in terms of the demonic characters, the mask maker gets freedom to some extent. People have no concrete imagination regarding the look of a monster. Only an amazingly terrible form people expect to enjoy. The makeup organs (lips, eyes, forehead, etc.) of a negative character are comparatively large and not in specific shape. The makeup of a monster, whether it is in a mask or real, is less smooth and less polished. But in terms of a mask of Lord Krishna, the shade, crown, dress, etc., everything has to be followed as per mythological norms. Nothing can be deviated from.
Types of musks: The musks are manufactured from locally available materials from natural resources in their respective places. The masks of Bhaona in Assam are made of bamboo, wood, clay, cloth, cane, cotton fibre, jute, paper, sponge, cow dung, tree leaves, etc. Among various types of Bhaonas, “Mukha Bhaona ‘’ became one of the prominent features of Bhaona. The name and style of a few prominent masks are mentioned below. There are two kinds of masks: natural or worldly (Loukik) and supernatural (Aloukik). Animals and humans are natural or worldly. Here, humans denote characters like king, queen, soldier, messenger, etc. The ten-headed Ravana, Goddess Durga with multiple hands, monstress Putana, Taraka, imaginary birds or animals like “Garuda”, “Narasimha ‘’ monkey Hanuman, etc. are supernatural.
DIFFERENT MASKS:
(1) FACE MASK/HEAD MASK: Only the head or face is covered by this mask. The characters wear this kind of mask, whose only face is supernatural. For example, the four-headed Lord Brahma, the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, and others.
(2) LOTOKAI/LOTOKORI/FOLDING MASK: This is a kind of big mask to cover the whole body, manufactured in two parts. The head mask is separated from the body part for comfortable movement by the actor. So, the wearer of this mask can easily twist their neck and head. This is popularly worn by the monster Sankhasur in Keli Gopala.
(3) BOR MUKHA/BIG MASK: The whole body is covered by this kind of mask. It isn’t foldable or manufactured in one format. The mask for the whole body is very heavy to lift or move. So, the preference of actors for “big masks” is very low. Whatever the use of masks in the modern era, everyone has to acknowledge their indigenous artistry or craftsmanship.
(Author Arup Saikia is a noted cultural enthusiast, Bhaona artiste, writer and alumnus of the University of Delhi.)