Mardi Gras Masks

Masqueraders go to neighborҳ houses and when invited inside to eat pancakes, they offer good wishes for the coming year. Here masqueraders celebrate Shrove Tuesday in Rumsiskes, at the outdoor museum of Country Life. Photo by Zenonas Nekrosius

Wooden masks are distinctive forms of folk art. They feature ugly faces, protruding noses, asymmetrical and toothless mouths. Hair, beards, and mustaches are made from unprocessed lines and horsehair. The oldest masks are those representing goats, cranes and horses. Other masks represented beggars, devils, witches and death. Today, along with traditional masks, there are modern-day masks depicting robots and astronauts.

Each masquerader has to act out his role fully, creatively, and in the funniest manner. Beggars sing hymns and beg for alms, cranes snatch and tease children. Most masqueraders parade noisily through ton making music and playing numerous tricks.