I suppose I should tell you about the curse of Awehat so you’ll understand about the mask.

Awehat was a priestess back in the Middle Dynasty who served Kuk, one of the gods worshipped in Hermopolis.

Now Awehat was very beautiful and a bit vain about it. Of all the priestesses, she had the largest mirrors, the most cosmetics, and the fanciest headdresses, but she served her god well, which pleased Kuk, so he ignored her flaws. Plus, the truth was, he was a little bit vain himself, and loved having such a beautiful priestess serve him.

Kuk was the god of darkness and obscurity (which basically means being hidden or unknown). Every night as the sun set, he would leave his temple and go out into the cool of the night and do…well, whatever it is that gods of darkness and the unknown do. And every morning, just before dawn touched the sky, Kuk would return to his temple, exhausted from his night’s work. Awehat would have all his offerings ready for him, sweet wine, honey cakes, and the finest of grains all laid out for his pleasure. Once he’d eaten his fill, she would wash his feet with her long, black hair (it sounds beastly, I know, but it’s what priestesses did.) Then Kuk would retire to the deepest, most secret part of the temple to sleep through the hot hours of the day, and everything was lovely.

Except…Kuk wore a beautiful golden mask to hide his face from the world (all the better to be hidden and unknown). And Awehat was not only a little vain, but a lot curious, especially since Kuk had never removed his mask in front of her. She thought this was carrying the obscurity thing a bit too far.

So one day, as she waited for her god to awake, she got the bright idea to creep into his inner sanctum and take a peek at his face. He slept deeply, you see, and she was certain he’d sleep right through. (In addition to being a little vain and a lot curious, Awehat was a bit dim.) Of course the moment she pulled the golden mask from Kuk’s face, he awoke. But it was too late. She’d seen his face. And it wasn’t exactly beautiful, like she’d been led to believe. It was ugly and frog-like. In fact, his whole head was that of a frog.

Kuk was furious and embarrassed (anger and embarrassment are a wretched combination) that his most beautiful priestess now knew just how ugly he really was. So he cursed her.

He decreed that she should also have to wear a mask. For all eternity. And if anyone happened to remove it so that they could gaze upon her beauty, they would be stricken by festering boils for their troubles.

Luckily, when Mother found the mask, it was no longer actually on Awehat’s face, so she didn’t get struck by the boils. But, a few years ago, when I was cleaning the mask for the exhibit, I, um, well, I happened to try it on. Just wanting to see what it would feel like! (I was quite young, you know. Only nine.) and I contracted a horrible case of festering boils.

Needless to say, once I’d dealt with my own boils, I removed the curse from the mask at once. Only now it seems to have regenerated itself. Honestly! Don’t I have enough to do around here without having to remove these beastly curses twice!

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