A collection of masks from around the world that would make the most precocious trick-or-treater jealous has been donated to The Octagon Center for the Arts by retired Iowa State University professors, Lillian and Leonard Feinberg.

The Feinbergs, who will be at the dedication, collected a majority of the masks from Sri Lanka after having lived there. In honor of the donation, the Octagon will kick off a three-part series called “Facing Humanity: Selections from the Feinberg Mask Permanent Collection” beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday with a dedication to the Feinbergs.

A Sri Lanka Food Fest will follow the dedication with a variety of authentic Sri Lankan food prepared by ISU students, faculty and their families. After guests have tantalized their taste buds, Susan Reed, the assistant director of the Institute for Global Studies in Culture, Power and History from Johns Hopkins University, will give a lecture.

Mahinda Dematawewa, a graduate student in Animal Science at ISU and a native of Sri Lanka, said that masks are quite common in his country. “Every house has one,” he said. “They [are believed to] get rid of evil and the spirits coming into the house. The curses are absorbed into the mask.”

Dematawewa likened the masks to horseshoes placed above doors in the United States for luck.

The Feinberg’s collection began when Lillian received two masks from her sister, said Carla Murphy, special events coordinator for The Octagon said. After that, they began collecting masks through their own travels as anthropologists, as well as receiving them as gifts from friends.

Several of the masks on display are hundreds of years old. Masks go back in Sri Lankan culture for more than 1,300 years, Dematawewa said.

The masks are used for three major purposes. The first, called Tovil, focuses on exorcism and curating. The second is known as both Kolam and Sokari and deals with dancing and drum performances, and the last use is for ceremonial processions.

Dematawewa said people actually still use the masks to chase away demons. “I have seen people faint with hypnotism … It’s so spooky,” Dematawewa said.

Dematawewa did say that not everyone can wear the masks. The narrators using the masks must have skills that are passed down from generation to generation. He said that the “performers” of the rituals associated with masks are not priests, because the masks are part of the folk religion of Sri Lanka. Buddhism, the country’s predominant religion, has nothing to do with the masks.

The donation of the masks will become part of The Octagon’s permanent collection. Debra Schnell, the Registrar for the Octagon, said that the center has “never had a permanent collection” before the masks and that they have become their “claim to fame.”

The Facing Humanity Lecture Series will continue through the beginning of October. There is a suggested donation of $3 for adults and $5 for families. For more information regarding the programs, contact the Octagon at 232-5331.