The Cuci Masks of Brănești between Social Biography and Cultural Revitalization: Reflections on Object Agency

This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2015 and 2019, analyses the social agency of the Cucii ritual masks of Brănești, Romania. The study posits that these masks act as dynamic agents of cultural revitalization whose power lies in their shifting materiality. By examining the transition from organic materials to industrial wire and plastic, the paper explores how masks configure contemporary ritual and social worlds. Drawing on Alfred Gell’s theory of agency, the analysis demonstrates how the technical complexity of wire masks (the Chip) imposes a specific discipline on the maker and a hierarchy of prestige within the community. Conversely, the adoption of industrial polymers by younger generations facilitates a democratization of the ritual, ensuring its survival through a pragmatic “culture in transit.” The article also examines the “migration” of these masks to European festivals, where their morphology is recalibrated for global visibility, transforming them into material ambassadors of local identity. The study concludes that the hybridity of contemporary masks — where the handcrafted “aura” meets the pragmatism of industrial series — is a strategic negotiation that secures the continuity of the tradition in both local and global contexts, rather than a sign of decay.