The small, so-called demon child or brat masks are probably the most quintessentially Pagunan of all masks. The demon name was first applied by the missionaries, the Pagu themselves did not take demons or devils very seriously, and called them brat masks. The masks were a recognition that young children are not only critical of and rebel against authority but also that this is expected of them. To wear these masks was to take on the role more formally. At performances the brat children would heckle, harass and make fun of other performers often using obscene gestures, something the Pagu who saw such things differently, enjoyed immensely. The brat dancers were not allowed to physically interfere with the other performers or drown out their words, although they could use their whips and canes lightly. Being a brat child was challenging. They were expected to use style and wit, and be entertaining in their harassment. They were also performers and would be criticized if they performed in a clumsy, stupid manner. For that and other reasons they might be confronted and carried off by crone or skull face dancers. Schwartz saw them as a reflection of the enhanced status of, and respect for the young emerging from the Great Cataclysm.
The top pair shown here are probably not typical, they were based on sketches made by a visiting whaler in the 1850's. He noted that the dancers who wore them, a boy and a girl, apparently twins about ten, "performed most obscenely all the while screaming what I took to be vile profanities. This ungodly act went on until a fat savage pulled up her skirt, sat on the boy, and loudly broke wind in his face". He also mentions that they had bright red tongue devices they could wave about. The cruder lower pair which may be originals despite their clean condition turned up unexpectedly while this book was being prepared
Schwartz's accounts describe similar obscenely mocking performances but with simpler masks and the dancers' bodies painted with whitish mud. None appeared over twelve or so. He mentions prosthetic tongues and that most brat dancers carried light canes or small soft reed and feather whips which they would use to "beat" and harass other performers who would usually make a point to totally ignore them. The use of whips and canes probably only occurred after the missionaries introduced corporal punishment to the islands. Schwartz relates an incident where a father gave his passive daughter a particularly ferocious brat mask in the hope she would become more assertive but he felt that attempted therapeutic use of the mask was rare.
These usually simple and often crude masks, unlike others, were usually carved by adolescents, typically boys for their younger siblings and friends. It was a way adolescents showed respect and favour for younger children who felt it was an honour to receive one. A popular, well-connected child might have many brat masks and with the exception of "the dead" or skull face masks they were the most abundant of all masks. They were also quite variable, the design limited by little more than the imaginations of the carvers. According to Schwartz's informants, design and style varied from place to place and over time. They were subject to changing fashions just as teen clothing is today. The features were always asymmetrical and distorted with the only constants being the eyeholes and a mouth through which the wearer could stick out his or her tongue or manipulate a tongue device. They tried to convey expressions of defiance and impertinence. Children commonly brushed their hair up and over the top of the mask.
Hardly any brat masks survived despite their former abundance. This was likely because they were usually not well made and not particularly valued at the time. However, their rarity is also due to the fact that they and the demon child performers were seen by the missionaries as an obstacle to their attempts to bring Christianity to the natives. The churches seized and destroyed as many masks as they could using public burning as part of their propaganda against this threat to God and the family. Later the colonial government officially suppressed the masks and performances as part of their campaign to enforce compulsory education.
