mask (ansiktsmask), Tamil man

1916.9.91

Name and identification of character
A Tamil, demala miniha (Sin.), or a moneylender, hettiya (Sin.), or a peddler, andi (Sin.). The characters, who have almost identical features, represented by the mask are known to the local spectators. They can easily identify them through costume, prescriptive verses and the Sinhala dialogue ensuing between the characters.

Context
An incidental comic skit in Kolam.

Material
Wood, Vel-kaduru (Nux vomica).

Iconography
Some the iconographical features of this mask are commonly used by the carvers to depict a drummer. The headgear is in the form of a turban, talappava (Sin.), gaily decorated with flower and leaf designs. The hair on the head is drawn in black. The face is painted reddish. The eyebrows are drawn in a black semi-circle. A beak-like nose and cork-screw moustache (see also Höpfner, 1969: 32). Both rows of teeth are painted in white and black.

2000 06 09
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka