Hand Carved Mask

This is another early 20th century Vintage hand carved, hand painted, wooden mask from the Indians of Ecuador. This is of a donkey very well done. These masks were made for The Fiesta de la Mama Negra (Festival of the Black Mama) is a celebration held in September and again in early November in Latacunga. Ecuador. The event originates in pre-colonial indigenous practices and was adapted to honor the Virgin of Mercy (Virgen de la Merced) after Catholic conversion, in thanks for her supposed intervention to protect the population from eruptions from the nearby Cotopaxi volcano. The festival has become one of the most important in Latacunga, and includes a parade (comparsa) featuring the Mama Negra prominently as an African version of Mary, mother of Jesus.