mask (ansiktsmask)

1916.9.335

Name and identification of character
A demon, either purnaka raksa (Sin.) or maru rassaya (Sin.). Exact identification is not possible because the ears are missing.

Context
Stage two in a Kolam performance.

Material
Wood, vel-kaduru (Sin.) (Nux vomica).

Iconography
The headdress comprises of two ornamented tiers. The foliage designs in red and yellow on the top tier symbolise fire flames, which is a characteristic feature of both the purnaka raksa and the maru rassa masks. Ashes beneath the flames are symbolised by an ash-coloured tendril motif, suli-väl (Sin.).

The mouth is broad and half-open with padded, reddish gums. A thin black line demarcates the border of the mouth. There are six eye-teeth. The eye-teeth at the corners of the mouth are in the shape of tusks. Hair is painted on the chin. The eyebrows over the goggle eyes are decorated with two rows of petal designs, pala-peti (Sin.). The upper row has curved edges ending in a tiny flower. Between the eyebrows is a sacred spot, a tilaka (Sin.), shaped of a wooden plank and decorated with dots and a drawing of a branch of a tree.

2000 07 14
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka