grstas

Grstas is a fictional term used in ethnographic fiction and worldbuilding to describe a ceremonial mask worn by the imagined Grstat people of central Aroria. Derived from the Grstatian language, the name is said to combine elements meaning face and story. Construction typically involves carved wood or baked ceramic, with pigments, shell inlays, and fiber cords. Maskers wear the grstas during harvest rites to enact ancestral tales, often guided by a lead storyteller and a drummer.

Size and design vary by region, but many examples emphasize stylized facial features and perforations for ventilation. Ceremonial function centers on memory, lineage, and social cohesion; the mask is treated as a conduit to ancestors. Variants are documented across different clans, with animal motifs and color schemes distinguishing lineages.

Today, grstas appears in contemporary fiction and game worldbuilding, where it serves as a symbol of tradition and identity. See also ceremonial mask, masquerade, ethnographic fiction.