Urtzu and Mamutzones

Another recent discovery has been the typical mask of Aritzo. Two masks to be exact, recently returned to the fore: "s'Urtzu"and "Mamutzone".

The ritual in this case includes a sacrificial victim (Orcus in the Etruscan mythology was the God of the underworld), represented by "s'Urtzu", and the figure reproduced by the " Mamutzone", an animalistic man.

He wears a coat of dark sleeveless sheepskin, a cork headgear with a couple of horns of bighorn sheep at the top. He carries on his shoulders the traditional bells, that ring continuously.

The "Urtzu" does not wear a mask, his face painted in black, and he also wears dark leather clothes.

The ritual, through dances and fights, tends to symbolically reproduce the eternal conflict between human and animal nature, typical of the Carnival of Barbagia.