False-Face Doll

False-Face Doll

The doll is a tourist item created by "Iroqrafts". It is a reclining figure with a false face, " broken nose," mask on. It is made from corn husks and has leather clothing and shoes with red, orange, and green beads. There is a tag attached which reads: "Onoya'giyada' For centuries the Iroquois Child has played with the dolls made from corn husks, some dressed, some plain. Traditionally, play dolls were made without faces, thereby encouraging the child's imagination. After the intrusion of the European, the heads were sometimes made of dried apples with finger-pinched, molded features. The newcomers, in turn, adopted husk dolls and made them for children. Made by Owa'nyudane and Siy'has Iroquois False Face Medicine Society Dancer. The corn husk dolls represents "Broken Nose" one of the host of supernaturals dedicated to the healing of certain of mankind's ills and to it's protection from violent winds."
  • Object: False-Face Doll
  • Artist: Owa'nyudane and Siy'has
  • Circa: 1950
  • Dimensions: 8" L x 3.25" h
  • Culture Area: Northeast / Eastern Woodlands
  • Cultural Group: Iroquois
  • Cultural Context: -
  • Donor: Barbara Wallace
  • Catalog #: 103.111