masks

"[Tourists] should not be afraid to take the masks that look like devils, because they have nothing to do with dances and witchcraft, it is something cultural." - Javier Loria, museum volunteer

The pride of the Boruca people is their ornately carved, wooden masks. The masks come in many different varieties and styles, but authentic Boruca masks demonstrate an expert craft, passed down for centuries. In addition to the two most common styles: Diablo and Ecological, masks are made to look like jaguars, birds or a combination of the styles.

making a mask

Watch as local mask maker, Roy Morales, turns a piece of balsa wood into an ecological mask.

See more designs, the craft process, and a variety of traditional and non-traditional mask examples.

more masks