Eastern Cherokee member Allen Long was considered by many to be one of the last great traditional mask makers (Fariello, 2013). Long learned his art from his father, who was also a traditional artist, and eventually became one of the most well known Cherokee artists in the mid to late twentieth century. Allen Long carved many traditional masks with several mediums and excelled in making masks for the traditional Booger dance.
The Booger dance is a satirical dance in which participants wear masks mocking elements or individuals in society and often dance in lewd and humorous ways. One of the common masks worn in the Booger dance is constructed using the nest of Dolichovespa maculata, the bald faced hornet.
Bald faced hornets are social insects that construct a paper-like nest to house their hive. They not only provided the Cherokee mask makers with a medium for Booger character masks, but were used as a food source as well.
The Booger dance is a satirical dance in which participants wear masks mocking elements or individuals in society and often dance in lewd and humorous ways. One of the common masks worn in the Booger dance is constructed using the nest of Dolichovespa maculata, the bald faced hornet.
Bald faced hornets are social insects that construct a paper-like nest to house their hive. They not only provided the Cherokee mask makers with a medium for Booger character masks, but were used as a food source as well.
