mask (ansiktsmask), Andi guru, Andi kolama

1916.9.90

Name and identification of character
An Indian peddler or a fakir, andi kolama (Sin.), sometimes known as andi guru (Sin.).

Context
Appears with two others of the same ilk in an incidental comic skit woven into the Kolam performance.

Material
Wood, Vel-kaduru (Nux vomica).

Iconography
The headgear is in the form of matted hair, usually adorning the head of the wandering foreign mendicant. The hair is shaped into the form of snakes' coils. It is painted in black, light blue and white. The face is yellowish white. Semi-circular eyebrows are drawn in black. Pale yellow eyelids, and a slightly lengthened nose. The mouth is open, showing the upper row of the teeth. Lips in pink. The moustache is curved at the ends. A tuft of hair on the chin is drawn in black. Elongated earlobes from which ear-ornaments are suspended (the right earring is missing).

2000 06 09
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka