One of the strongest beliefs among the people of Mamoiada is that, without the Mamuthones and Issohadores, there can be no Carnival. This certainty reflects the importance attributed to the celebration, where the moment of donning the mask (sa viséra) is considered the climax of the dressing ritual. It is then that the participants lose their identity and bring to life the parade, which lasts from the afternoon until late evening, making sure to eat and drink little, perhaps in memory of the fasting historically associated with the day.
The Mamoiada mask ritual has undergone various and numerous layers of meaning over time, referring to different historical moments in a constant intertwining of historical and mythological time. It is likely that the celebration originated in the pre-Christian agro-pastoral environment as an apotropaic rite used to drive away evil spirits from people and livestock, at a time when the concept of life and death was very different from that introduced later by Christianity. Over time, additional meanings were layered on these ancestral ones, but today, the ritual of the Mamuthones and Issohadores still preserves the memory of the ancient ceremony that Christianity later transformed into an allegory and carnival masquerade.

Without a doubt, the Mamuthone mask is the most recognizable of the Mamoiada carnival and perhaps of all Sardinian carnivals. The attire is rich and characteristic: a dark velvet robe topped with su bonette, a male headgear; the black mastruca called sa pedde; hand-tanned leather shoes – sos husinzos; and sa viséra, the black wooden anthropomorphic mask covered with a handkerchief, su mucadore. But even more famous is sa càrriga, the cluster of bells and jingles distributed over the Mamuthones’ bodies, often weighing up to 25 kg.
Some anthropologists offer an intriguing interpretation of the heavy steps of the Mamuthones, which seem to stomp vigorously on the ground almost as if urging its productive awakening. This movement generates the characteristic noise, its power enhanced by the choreographed parade.

The Issohadores are fewer in number compared to the Mamuthones and are arranged in what seems to be an orderly manner: one leads the two lines, one is in the center, and one is behind, while the others move in a seemingly scattered manner with a more agile step than the Mamuthones. During the parade, they throw the rope they hold towards the audience, preferably capturing women and girls. This gesture is a sign of good fortune, with a meaning – according to some scholars – almost fertility-related.