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, mama'yudlamalaga (M. Martin, 1950).

Mask consisting of two pieces of wood nailed together at an angle. The mask is painted white with black eyebrows, a black nose bridge with orange-red nostrils, orange-red lips, a moustache and goatee-like scalloped design in black around the mouth and on the raised chin, black lines and orange-red shapes on the cheeks. Cedar bark fringe attached along top of mask and extends down past the chin at the back.