Ceremonial Colombian Mask, "Thinking About You"

Artisans of the Kamsá Biyá Community, an indigenous people living in the Sibundoy Valley in the southern Colombian Andes, design and craft this delightful mask. In keeping with their cultural and spiritual traditions, they use such masks in ceremonies where they ingest a native plant with medicinal and psychoactive properties called ayahuasca. The artisans carve the mask by hand from basket willow wood, accenting one side with tiny black and gold glass beads in elaborate patterns.