Allen Long

Allen Long

Artisans

Cherokee Indians

Handicraft

Indigenous American masks

Manners and customs

Mask makers

Mask making

Wood-carvers

Wood-carving -- Appalachian Region, Southern

This undated photograph of Cherokee woodcarver Allen Long (1917-1983) shows him carving a traditional dance mask. Long was born in the Big Cove Community of Cherokee, North Carolina and started carving masks when he was twelve years old. Long learned the art from his father, Will West Long. In Cherokee culture, masks have long been used in ceremonial dances, and Long said he remembered watching dances that utilized masks. The name of the photographer who captured this shot is unknown. Many different kinds of masks were traditionally used in Cherokee culture for a variety of ceremonial purposes and could range from variations on the "booger" mask, to depictions of animals, including bear and deer, and the seven Cherokee clans. Long reportedly carved between 10 and 12 different styles of traditional Cherokee masks, the snake mask being his favorite mask to carve. Long typically carved masks from buckeye, the traditional choice of mask makers, because it is soft and easier to carve th

Unknown

Photograph Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

jpg

photographs

StillImage

10943

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/10943

2009-01-27

All rights reserved. For permissions and use, contact Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC 28719;

Qualla Boundary

Appalachian Region, Southern

4" x 5"(dimension)

Cherokee Traditions