Booger masks are humorous representations of white people, poking fun at their strange facial features, excess body hair, or sexual preoccupations. The Booger Dance counteracted the effects of foreign cultures, diseases, and lewd and belligerent behaviors brought by foreigners and their ghosts. Men representing these outside forces wore the masks with ragged clothing to interrupt an evening of social dancing. When asked who they were and what they came for, the boisterous intruders gave outlandish names and tried to start fights. Each intruder then performed a solo, often ribald, dance.
