False Faces

The False Face Society is the best known of many medicinal societies among the Iroquois in New York, USA. The society is best known for its dramatic wooden masks, the "false faces." The masks are used in healing rituals which invoke spirits and a dream world. Those cured by the society become members. Also, echoing the significance of dreams to the Iroquois, anyone who dreams that they should be a member of the society may join.
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[Native American] This English term, coined by the 17th century British colonials in North America, refers to masks and the making of masks: Gagosha among the Seneca, Hadu among the Onandoga, Gaguwara by the Mohawk. The reference also applies to certain tribal groups, the Faces Society. Each mask has a name associated with a particular mythic persona and are used in various healing rituals and ceremonies. Shagodyowehgowah or "Great Protector" is the head of all the False Faces. Anyone cured of a False Face illness is initiated into the society that aided in the cure.