OREWA MASK

Extraordinary as works of art and decoration, these masks come from the Shamanic beliefs and rituals of the Central American Indians from the Wounaans and Emberas tribes.

The Indians divide the world in two, a visible world and a parallel world which is invisible.

These invisible spirits “ haï“ are found in nature, in animals or in plants. “ The great superiority of this parallel world, this universe of shadows, is that they can see man while man cannot see them “ wrote Jean-Marie Le Clézio.

Through the Shamans, they come into contact with the “ haï“ spirits of Nature.

The mask or “ nemboro “ allows the Shaman, during the ritual, to take on the appearance of a spirit from the invisible world and enter into communication with this world.

After use, the mask which has “danced“ will be destroyed because it remains “charged“ and only the Shaman is allowed to touch it. And so there are no previous examples of these masks in existence.

These masks are made by women in the heart of the Panamanian tropical forest. After being harvested, palm tree leaves are dried, whitened in the sun and dyed with natural dyes (roots, fruits, wood, seeds or leaves, …). A fantastic creation work then begins… not only requiring a major artistic sense but also an unrivaled know-how that only the women of the tribe have.