False Face Mask
The False Face masks of the Haudenosaunee are distorted human faces carved from living basswood, painted red and black, and used by the False Face Society in curing ceremonies that drive sickness from the sick. The twisted features recall the forest beings of tradition, above all the Great Face who is said to have broken his own face in a contest with the sun and gained power over disease, appearing in the story of the Flying Head. Traditionally the masks are carved from the living tree without metal tools, so the bark and spirit of the tree remain part of the carving, and they are kept by soc