Masks and Murals in Mamoiada

Maybe you have already heard about the murals in Orgosolo and San Sperate, which stem from protest movements. The first mural was painted by Giuseppe Sciola in San Sperate in 1968 [1]. “In 1975 the mural activity began in Orgosolo with protest themes. The following year, in 1976, muralism arrived in Villamar thanks to the work of the two Chilean exiles Alan Jofrè and Uriel Parvex”; which I only like to mention [2].

I want to show some murals of Mamoiada, a village in the Nuoro area in the Sardinian mountains, which are colorful tales of daily history and especially they show scenes from carnival and the masks. Mamoiada posseses a Museum of Mediterranean Masks, which I could not visit, and is famous for Mamuthones and Issohadores (traditional carnival masks) [3]. “The museum focuses on the widespread use of wooden masks worn on the face, with animal and grotesque forms, as well as sheepskin and ram's skin, cowbells and other objects that make deafening sounds.“

The Mamuthones wear black mask and are clothed with black sheepskin and carry cowbells [4]. Mamuthones could go back to a Sardinian-Mycenaean term used to name the Phoenicians, melaneimones, meaning black faces. These black faces can still be seen on the Sadinian flag or the label of Ichnusa Beer. But the word may go back even further and have its origin in rain rites and mean “men invoking the rain”. The Issohadores wear white masks, white shirt, trousers and a red bodice.They also carry a rope, which is the reason for the name “rope carriers”. They give the pace to the carnival procession. One can buy these masks in Mamoiada.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://genteinviaggio.it/i-murales-sardegna/ and I I've also red: “Durch die ausdrucksstarken, evokativen Bilder kommuniziert Orgosolo mit Bewohnern und Besuchern gleichermaßen.” [Orgosolo communicates with residents and visitors alike through the expressive, evocative images.] The translation hardly carries the culturally pitched German original – https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/de/die-stille-stimme-der-wandmalereien-von-orgosolo
[2] I only like to mention these Chileneans as I still failed to write about the murals in Valparaiso, of which I took pictures a couple of years ago. Maybe I'll do so in the near future. Maybe I should also mention that there had been other activists, who had to flee from Chile after the murder / death / execution of Salvador Allende.
[3] https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en/explore/museum-mediterranean-masks
[4] https://www.hotelgabbianoazzurro.com/fr/Blog/Masks-of-Sardinia-its-spectacular-folklore

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