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CONTENTS
• Introduction
Kolam
• Kolam Natima – pranks, social critique and religious ritual?
• Masks and measures
• From the chambers of the Museum of Cultural History
• Play of the Gods
Sanni
• 18 masks, 18 illnesses – and the master of them all
• Maha Kola Sanni – a demon is born
• Myths and masks
• The power of words
Masks
Masks from the chambers of Museum of Cultural History
New masks
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Masks for life and death
Rituals and drama in Sri Lanka
The masks in this exhibition belong to two different Sri Lankan mask traditions found within popular Sinhalese Buddhism. Kolam Natima is an old form of mask theatre with ritual aspects. Sanni Yakuma is a ritual offering to the demon Maha Kola Sanni and his ‘gang’. Both performances have elements of drama.
Deva Sanniya. Photo: Hege Myrlund Larsen
The masks give life to different aspects of human existence. Through masks people can meet and relate to beings that are not usually visible or approachable. Demons, gods, and royalty become part of village life for a time, and take the scene together with local stereotypes.
These rituals concern the great mysteries of the human experience: The meaning of life, death, and cosmos.
Kolam Natima is linked with fertility and new life, Sanni Yakuma to healing. Both Kolam Natima and Sanni Yakuma are performed in an open area in the village and traditionally last from sunset until dawn. Before the performances can begin, the area must be marked out and decorated with geometrical patterns made of fresh palm, banana stems and leaves.
Woodcarvers at the Ambalangoda Masks Museum. Photo: Øivind Fuglerud
The masks are made of wood from the Kaduru-tree. This wood is light, strong, and easy to cut. Mask-carving is a long established tradition in the Ambalangoda area, in south-west Sri Lanka. The Wijesuriya family has been carving masks for at least five generations. They have made the new Sanni masks in this exhibition. Today they run the Ambalangoda mask museum. The Kolam masks bought by the Ethnographic museum in Oslo in 1885 may also have been made by this family.
Ambalangoda Masks Museum. Photo: Øivind Fuglerud
Next: Kolam Natima – pranks, social critique and religious ritual?
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The exhibition
The exhibition
Exhibition opening
Lullaby, performed by Ajantha Karunarathnege and Vasuky Jayapalan.
Videos
A tovil ouside Matara
Woodcarvers at the Ambalangoda Masks Museum
A visit with the drummers/ dancers, Matara, Sri Lanka
An adura cleanses an area of evil spirits
Map of Sri Lanka
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