Black man mask, Dance of the Negritos, probably Huanyuco region, Peru.
Early 20th century.
Carved wood with gesso, paint (6 1/2" h. x 7" w x 4 1/2“ d.)

These masks are worn for the Danza de los Negritos (Dance of the Black Men), performed during Christmas celebrations in Huánuco, Peru. The traditional performance dates to colonial times, when African slaves were brought into the region to work in the mines and at the haciendas. As part of the Christmas festivities, the slaves were dressed in elegant costumes and taught to perform dances in honor of the Holy Child. More than one hundred Danza de los Negritos scripts still exist dating from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, preserved in archives and private collections. After emancipation of the enslaved Africans and Peru's independence from Spain in the nineteenth century, the local Indians and mestizos took over the Africans' role in these dances and donned the negrito masks. The cofradías, or brotherhoods of men, who carry out the Danza de los Negritos are among the most prestigious groups in Huánuco. Their annual performances for the Child Jesus at Christmas are considered a high point of the year.

(Barbara Mauldin in Folk Art of the Andes)