Sceptre of a Masker (On Some Folk Rituals in Dagestan)

Maskers play a vital role in the ritual and social ceremonies of Dagestan. With sceptre in hand, the maskers' part in folk traditions has preserved this previously sacral iconography in a profane form. This paper seeks to illuminate the role of the maskers and the mythological symbolism of the sceptre through descriptive analysis of festive ceremonies in Dagestan, while comparing its function to other Caucasian communities.