Facing The History Of Mask

As we are hopefully nearing the end of the pandemic, the mask is happily becoming part of our past. However, the historical track of this face covering reaches far beyond medical purposes.

The earliest example of the mask is connected to rituals by people in Africa who used them to communicate with spirits. They were made of many different shapes and sizes and each African tribe had their own signature form. Inuit tribes in the Pacific Northeast made their mask out of leather, wood, and feathers with movable parts. These masks represented unity with humanity, their ancestors, and the beast they hunted. In Oceania, where they were big on ancestorial worship, they made strong big mask in honor of those who came before them. Ancient Aztecs in Laten America, used masks to cover up the dead. Initially they used leather, but later copper and gold were preferred. Ancient Greeks used their mask for theater during the renaissance period. Japan also used Kabuki masks for theatre as well.

Medical masks have a long history too. For example, during the 17^th century plague, epidemic doctors wore bird-like masks to cover up. At the time, the disease was thought to be spread by bad odors in the air requiring doctors to be in full face cover ups with extended beaks to aide in breathing. During the flu epidemic of 1918, surgeons started wearing masks while operating on patients. Doctors also advised the public to wear masks as well to prevent further spread of the virus. A mandate that was not popular. People were dubious about the mask’s effectiveness. However, in Japan it was the opposite. They embraced the wearing of masks seeing it as an effective use of modern medical technology.

This scenario is similar to when the current pandemic first hit in America. Many were skeptical about the pandemic and about wearing mask. Others conformed in hopes it would keep themselves and others safe. Luckily, because of all our effort’s, things are starting to get back to normal. We can take off the masks and see smiles again.

Now that our masks are being removed, we can put a fresh face forward. Next time we’ll discuss the history of makeup.