Editing Mask (section)

===Asia===

====China====
[[File:Beijing opera mask.jpg|thumb|right|120px|A [[Peking opera]] mask]]
In China, masks are thought to have originated in ancient religious ceremonies. Images of people wearing masks have been found in rock paintings along the [[Yangtze]]. Later mask forms brings together myths and symbols from [[shamanism]] and [[Buddhism]].<ref name="Emigh-1996"/>
[[File:青铜纵目面具B.jpg|thumb|[[Sanxingdui]] Bronze Mask with Protruding Eyes, [[Shu (state)|Shu]]]]
''Shigong'' dance masks were used in shamanic rituals to thank the gods, while [[Nuo opera|''nuo'']] dance masks protected from bad spirits. Wedding masks were used to pray for good luck and a lasting marriage, and "Swallowing Animal" masks were associated with protecting the home and symbolised the "swallowing" of disaster. Opera masks were used in a basic "common" form of opera performed without a stage or backdrops. These led to colourful facial patterns that we see in today's [[Peking opera]].

====India/Sri Lanka/Indo-China====
Masked characters, usually divinities, are a central feature of Indian dramatic forms, many based on depicting the epics [[Mahabharata]] and [[Ramayana]]. Countries that have had strong Indian cultural influences – [[Cambodia]], [[Burma]], [[Indonesia]], [[Thailand]], and Lao – have developed the Indian forms, combined with local myths, and developed their own characteristic styles.

The masks are usually highly exaggerated and formalised, and share an aesthetic with the carved images of monstrous heads that dominate the facades of [[Hindu]] and [[Buddhist]] temples. These faces or ''Kirtimukhas'', 'Visages of Glory', are intended to ward off evil and are associated with the animal world as well as the divine. During ceremonies, these visages are given active form in the great mask dramas of the South and South-eastern Asian region.<ref name="Emigh-1996">{{cite book | title = Masked Performance | first = John | last = Emigh | publisher = [[University of Pennsylvania Press]] | year = 1996 | isbn = 0-8122-1336-X}}</ref>

====Indonesia====
{{Main|Topeng}}
In Indonesia, the mask dance predates Hindu-Buddhist influences. It is believed that the use of masks is related to the cult of the ancestors, which considered dancers the interpreters of the gods. [[Native Indonesian]] tribes such as [[Dayak people|Dayak]] have masked Hudoq dance that represents nature spirits. In [[Java]] and [[Bali]], masked dance is commonly called ''[[topeng]]'' and demonstrated Hindu influences as it often feature epics such as ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata]]''. The native story of [[Panji (prince)|Panji]] also popular in topeng masked dance. Indonesian topeng dance styles are widely distributed, such as topeng Bali, Cirebon, Betawi, Malang, Yogyakarta, and Solo.

====Japan====
[[File:天狗の面鉄輪温泉PB060289.jpg|thumb|Mask of [[Tengu]]]]

Japanese masks are part of a very old and highly sophisticated and stylized theatrical tradition. Although the roots are in prehistoric myths and cults, they have developed into refined art forms. The oldest masks are the ''gigaku''. The form no longer exists, and was probably a type of dance presentation. The ''bugaku'' developed from this – a complex dance-drama that used masks with moveable jaws.

The ''nō'' or [[noh]] mask evolved from the gigaku and bugaku and are acted entirely by men. The masks are worn throughout very long performances and are consequently very light. The ''nō'' mask is the supreme achievement of Japanese mask-making. ''Nō'' masks represent gods, men, women, madmen and devils, and each category has many sub-divisions. ''[[Kyōgen]]'' are short farces with their own masks, and accompany the tragic nō plays. [[Kabuki]] is the theatre of modern Japan, rooted in the older forms, but in this form masks are replaced by painted faces.<ref>Lommel (1970), chapter: "Japan".</ref>

====Korea====
[[File:A Korean Mask.jpg|thumb|A Korean mask worn by a [[Talchum]] performer]]
{{See also|Korean mask}}
Korean masks have a long tradition associated with shamanism and later in ritual dance. Korean masks were used in war, on both soldiers and their horses; ceremonially, for burial rites in jade and bronze and for shamanistic ceremonies to drive away evil spirits; to remember the faces of great historical figures in death masks; and in the arts, particularly in ritual dances, courtly, and theatrical plays. The present uses are as miniature masks for tourist souvenirs, or on [[mobile phone]]s, where they hang as good-luck talismans.
[[File:Korea-Andong-Hahoe.Village-04.jpg|thumb|traditional Korean masks, [[Hahoetal]] (Kaksi, Yangban and Sonpi)]]