atłaamł (Mask)

Mother Giving Birth mask; used in the atłaamł dance series. Grouse calls the woman, who comes out dancing; then she crouches down by the fire and two masked children (boy and girl) appear from under the mother's blanket and proceed to dance with her and another woman representing the midwife.

Mother giving birth: mamayutlamalagas.

Mask (a) with white face and small circular eyes, black hair and thick black eyebrows with red between them. There is a red design at the top centre of the forehead, and there are two red semicircles at the temples. The nostrils and lips are also red. A tuft of feathers attached to a wooden stick with blue string and off-white fabric tape (b) fits into a hole in the top of the mask.