Masking the Inner Ocean: Proposing the Use of Mask in Igal Dance for the Next Phase of the Interipe Model

Abstract

This paper proposes the integration of mask work within the next phase of the Inclusive Treatment Experimental Ritual Performance (In TERiPe) model - a culturally grounded therapeutic framework rooted in the Bajau-Sama Igal dance tradition. While the first two In TERiPe pilot workshops (2023–2025) with forty-one People with Different Abilities (PwDA) successfully explored the healing dimensions of Igal-dramatherapy without the use of masks, new insights from practice-based research suggest that masking can deepen emotional accessibility and symbolic transformation in participants. The proposed phase, supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia grant (2025–2026), aims to develop and test mask-integrated movement sequences through smaller pilot rehearsals and at the International Mask Festival (IMF) 2025, leading up to a major inclusive workshop scheduled within nine months from August 2025. Drawing from theories of ritual performance, dramatherapy, and Southeast Asian aesthetics, this article articulates the cultural rationale, psychophysical potential, and humanistic implications of introducing masks into Igal-based therapy. It positions mask work as a bridge between tradition and innovation, body and psyche, personal emotion and communal empathy — proposing a new, inclusive grammar for Malaysian performing-arts-based therapy.