The gnaga is a type of mask originating in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. The mask depicts the face of a

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

and was historically worn by

male prostitute Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. M ...

s and

cross-dresser Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

s, particularly during the

Carnival of Venice The Carnival of Venice (; ) is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy, famous throughout the world for its elaborate costumes and masks. The Carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday (''Martedì Grasso'' or Mardi Gras), which is the day before the star ...

. The mask covers the top half of the face and is traditionally made of

papier-mâché file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...

Etymology

The word derives from , a Venetian-language onomatopoeia representing the

meow A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. ''Meows'' may have diverse tones in terms of their sound, and what is heard can vary from being chattered to calls, murmurs, and whispers. Adult cats rarely meow to each other. Thus, an adult cat meowin ...

of a cat. People that wear the gnaga are known as .

History

During the 16th century in the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, homosexuality was illegal and punishable by death by hanging and burning in

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal Town Square, public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an ext ...

. However, Venetian law stipulated that people could not be arrested for crimes committed while performing as a masked character during the

. According to local legend, male homosexual prostitutes wore cat masks and performed as women to avoid arrest for their sexuality. Gnaga performers often wore dresses and carried baskets of

kitten A kitten is a Juvenile (organism), juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are fully dependent on their mothers for #Establishing immunity, survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. A ...

s with them. Occasionally they pretended to be nannies and carried real babies. According to a popular story, male prostitutes were greatly popular in Venice, even outcompeting female prostitutes. It is said that in 1511, the Venetian government changed the law to allow female prostitutes to publicly display their breasts from balconies, in order to better compete with homosexuals. This change is said to have led to the naming of

Ponte delle Tette Ponte delle Tette is a small bridge over the Rio di San Canciano in the parish of San Cassiano, Venice, Italy, in the sestieres of San Polo. It takes its name ("Bridge of the Tits") from the use of the bridge by prostitutes, who were encouraged to ...

() and Fondamenta delle Tette (). The gnaga mask continues to be worn at the Carnival of Venice by men dressed as women. Wearers of the mask sometimes carry a basket containing a cat, and meow at passers-by.

References

{{furry fandom, state=collapsed Carnival costumes Masks in Europe Cats in art Cross-dressing Male prostitution LGBTQ history in Italy LGBTQ fashion

Etymology

History

See also

References