COURTESY EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY "Sita," a main figure in the Ramayam, is depicted in this mask from Thailand.

Mask tradition expands
on human possibilities

Some are dipped in pink, others in yellow or alabaster white. Some are ornamented, while others are smooth and sleek. Each mask, with the exaggerated features of human and animals, tells a story.

'Masks of Southeast Asia' Place: East-West Center Gallery On view: Through March 16 Reception: 1 to 3 p.m. today, with performances and demonstrations at 1 and 3 p.m. by Irawati Durban and Bulan Djelantik. Also, a Thai performance by Rose Sutrabutra takes place at 2 p.m. March 13. Admission: Free Call: 944-7612

The masks of Southeast Asia, as presented in the East-West Center exhibition "Gods and Demons, Monkeys, and Men," tell tales of cosmic friction with opposing characters divided into four or five classic types: gods, women, warriors, teachers and clowns, all in search of balance. One group symbolizes the struggle between animals and demons, forces to be domesticated or simply contained. Others are representative of the teacher and the clown, none outdoing the others completely.

In Indonesia a younger brother, round-faced with chubby cheeks, is quick-witted and smarter than his older, self-important brother. The younger brother provides comic relief, but should not be underestimated because of his roles as family peacemaker. In Cambodia a goddess of the sea creates lightning with a flick of the glass ball resting at her side and her metal headdress. A horse from Bangkok represents sensuality that is not always tamable.

Nearly all the masks in the exhibit were fashioned between 1994 and 2003, and come from Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. Guest curator Kathy Foley says in her gallery notes that the prevalence of mask theater in Southeast Asia today comes from a long lineage of family storytellers. In addition to regional tales, epic stories such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana -- a classic tale of devotion, separation and reunion -- are also told, passing the values of one generation on to the next.

In retelling the stories, "Masks can represent something greater than what one person can represent," said curator Michael Schuster of the East-West Center Gallery. "We are limited in our one physical body."

With the simple switch of a mask, performers are able to explore the comic and tragic, male and female, good and evil that is within every being and the universe.

Power (red mask) and possibilities (white mask) also represent human potential and the need to make sense of events beyond our control.

COURTESY EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY "Jetayu" is from Sunda, West Java.

COURTESY EAST-WEST CENTER GALLERY A feathered Hudoq mask from Kalimantan, Indonesia, is worn during rice planting to battle evil spirits.