The dramatic bark cloth kavat masks created by CentralBaining peoples are used exclusively in the night dance, anocturnal performance lit by firelight. The Central Bainingpractice both day dance and night dance rites. The daydance, accompanied by an orchestra of women, is devotedto female fertility, agriculture, and the mourning of thedead, phenomena typically associated with the community.The night dance, by contrast, is accompanied by a maleorchestra and dedicated to spirits, animals, and commoditiesassociated with the surrounding forest, which are representedby the kavat masks. Several dozen forms of kavat masksexist, each of which depicts a spirit linked with a specificanimal, plant, product, or activity associated with theforest. The rounded form of this mask suggeststhat it portrays a leaf spirit.
