Where were deerskin strap masks worn?

We assume you’re thinking here of the famous turquoise mosaic mask usually associated with the creator god Tezcatlipoca, in the Mexico Gallery of the British Museum. This mask was made from a real human skull and has two long deerskin straps attached to it. Experts believe that these were used to tie the mask around the waist, at the back, and that the wearer was probably an impersonator of the god - a common feature of Aztec festivals. The evidence for this comes from codices, such as the Telleriano-Remensis and the Zouche-Nuttall. On page 39 of the Codex Zouche-Nuttall (a Mixtec manuscript held at the British Museum) is a depiction of a godlike figure wearing a skull mask exactly this way.

Turquoise skull mask of Tezcatlipoca, British Museum

Another use to which masks were put was protection - from bad spirits and illnesses. If you click on the link below and visit our Mexican Masks gallery you will see at the top an image from the Aztec New Fire Ceremony in which spectators (in particular pregnant women) of this all-important ritual that happened every 52 years wore maguey-fibre masks to avoid being harmed by the forces of darkness at this critical time.

Re-enactment of Aztec funeral ceremony, Templo Mayor Museum, by the group Amoxpoani