Heimdall
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Post by Heimdall on Oct 11, 2019 21:52:18 GMT
Working my way through Orlais again, I tended to lean on masked empire as a source here for a portrayal of Orlesian culture. I was a bit disappointed in how DAI handled the masks in particular, having only a few common models.
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Post by parsival on Oct 23, 2019 13:19:03 GMT
I remember reading somewhere that the penalties for impersonation using fake masks were very high. I wonder if there might be an unwritten rule forbidding such in the Great Game?
I used to think that foreign spies should have a field day in the Orlesian court, as the identity of individuals is cloaked. Perhaps though, conversation is far more guarded and nuanced as a result.
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Heimdall
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Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Heimdall
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Heimdall on Oct 23, 2019 14:28:30 GMT
I remember reading somewhere that the penalties for impersonation using fake masks were very high. I wonder if there might be an unwritten rule forbidding such in the Great Game? I used to think that foreign spies should have a field day in the Orlesian court, as the identity of individuals is cloaked. Perhaps though, conversation is far more guarded and nuanced as a result. In Masked Empire it’s mentioned that the palace guards are unmasked for precisely this reason, to prevent spies, thieves or assassins from slipping in and replacing them. There are penalties for wearing a mask one has no right to, I don’t remember what they are at the moment. |
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Post by sandwichtern on Oct 24, 2019 9:49:37 GMT
Working my way through Orlais again, I tended to lean on masked empire as a source here for a portrayal of Orlesian culture. I was a bit disappointed in how DAI handled the masks in particular, having only a few common models. I myself would have been very interested in learning what features in Orlesian culture caused them adopt the custom of wearing masks. I suspect the custom is rooted in cultures of Ciriane and Inghirsh, human tribes that inhabited the lands now known as Orlais. So what could they have used masks for? Encyclopædia Britannia lists in its article about masks different uses of masks. MASKS FOR DEALING WITH THE DECEASED
Funerary customs and rites (honouring the deceased, guiding the the spirits of the deceased to the realm of ancestors)
Funerary masks (covering the face of the deceased, forcing the the spirit of the dead to depart for the spirit world, protecting the departed by frightening away malevolent spirits)
MASKS FOR SEASONAL CHANGES AND FERTILITY RITES AND FESTIVALS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM
Fertility rites (for ensuring crop fertility)
Masks associated with folk festivals (generated by seasonal changes or marking the beginning and end of the year)
Festive occasions (to cause humorous confusions, to achieve anonymity for the prankster or reveler, merrymaking)
Honouring spirits and ancestors during certain times of the year
MASKS FOR PORTRAYING HISTORICAL, MYTHOLOGICAL AND FICTIONAL EVENTS
Among nonliterate people masked rituals act as a link between the past and present, making sure history gets told
Portraying characters in dramatic performance or reenactments of mythological events (masks could also double as simple megaphones)
MASKS FOR PROTECTING ONESELF IN WAR, HUNT, FROM THE WEATHER OR ILLNESS OR FROM BEING RECOGNISED
Warfare (war mask with malevolent expression of hideous features will instill fear in the enemy)
Disguise masks for hunting (stalking prey and later to house the slain animal's spirit in hope of placating it)
Against cold weather
Curing of sickness and for protection of disease
Secret societies (escaping recognition)
MASKS FOR DEALING WITH ANCESTORS OR SPIRITS
Representing potentially harmful spirits (keeping a required balance of power)
Place where a spirit incarnates in
Representing ancestors that enjoyed specific cultural roles (acting as intermediaries for the transmission of petitions or offerings of respect to the gods)
Totem masks (where a totem ancestor is believed to actually materialise in its mask, to protect the members of the clan)
Totem masks of high priests, healers, and shamans (enabling exorcising evil spirits, punishing enemies, locating game or fish, predicting the weather, curing diseases)
MASKS USED FOR JUDGING, ADMONISHING OR SIGNIFYING A CHANGE IN STATUS OF AN INDIVIDUAL
For admonishing (e.g. you act like a pig, you get to wear a pig mask in public as a punitive measure)
Masks worn by judges (to protect them from future recriminations)
Indicative of one's new role as an adult (like a cap for graduates) Seeing as masks are something worn by nobility in Orlais and a person can only wear a mask belonging to their family, I wonder if their original purpose had been to mark its holder as a representative of some office or job which was highly regarded by members of a tribe. (And so masks that were originally worn as a "work uniform" eventually became hereditary signs of a prestigious lineage.) In DA: Last Court the ruler of Serault organised grand banquet for the divine to regain their confiscated ancestral mask ("the bright gold, winking gems, and green tines of the Glass-Antlered Mask of Serault"), so you can't just willy-nilly come up and adopt a new mask design and begin to use it either. Judging by Britannica's list of different functions of masks, I'd hazard a guess that the ancient Ciriane and Inghirsh tribesmen wore masks when interacting with spirits and some of those masks - like the Dalish tattoos - might have magical aspects or protective qualities hidden among their unique appearance. Doubtlessly few remember what was their original use. The codex about The Brecilian Forest tells of a Dalish hunter who fashioned three bows from a rowan tree which was inhabited by a spirit and the ill luck that followed. What I'm wondering is whether ancient "Orlesian" masks were crafted to escape the wrath of spirits in cases like these. Perhaps there even exists masks that house Fade spirits? 🤔 So, instead of just portraying Orlesians as those jackasses that oppress Fereldans, I'd be much more interested learn how and why their customs and social mores like came to be.
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Heimdall
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Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Heimdall
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Posts: 5,574 Likes: 12,623
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Post by Heimdall on Oct 24, 2019 16:05:41 GMT
Judging by Britannica's list of different functions of masks, I'd hazard a guess that the ancient Ciriane and Inghirsh tribesmen wore masks when interacting with spirits and some of those masks - like the Dalish tattoos - might have magical aspects or protective qualities hidden among their unique appearance. Doubtlessly few remember what was their original use. The codex about The Brecilian Forest tells of a Dalish hunter who fashioned three bows from a rowan tree which was inhabited by a spirit and the ill luck that followed. What I'm wondering is whether ancient "Orlesian" masks were crafted to escape the wrath of spirits in cases like these. Perhaps there even exists masks that house Fade spirits? 🤔 So, instead of just portraying Orlesians as those jackasses that oppress Fereldans, I'd be much more interested learn how and why their customs and social mores like came to be. Well we know that the tradition of wearing masks among the nobility was popularized by Kordillus Drakon’s granddaughter, Empress Jeaneve Drakon. And it does seem restricted to the nobility now. But it could still have much older roots that would be interesting to explore. |
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