1916.9.297
Name and identification of character
A cobra demon, naga raksaya/rassaya (Sin.).
Context
Stage two in a Kolam performance.
Material
Wood, vel-kaduru (Sin.) (Nux vomica).
Iconography
It is a colossal mask, made out of three pieces of wood. The headdress is composed of a tall and expanded cobra-hood, sheltering four smaller cobras.
There is a great deal of regional variation between different examples of the cobra demon mask. This is due to variations in the carvers' interpretations of the descriptions given in the prescriptive verses, or in the ritual texts. It is also due to stylistic differences between traditions set by the workshops of master carvers.
The prescriptive verses stipulate the number of cobra-hoods for the mask and the positions in which these figures should be carved. For instance, the cobras should issue from the nostrils, or from the sides of the jaws. But the verses do not specifically indicate where the cobras should end. The carver, with a penchant for excessive decoration, would use the cobra figures as ornaments and to form eye-catching patterns.
The head-dress of this mask is composed of two tiers, the large cobra-hood and the three smaller ones. Although, in some masks of this category there are three tiers of cobras (vide, Goonatilleka, 1978:72).
The mouth is animal-like. The nose is broad.
The demons are unseen beings who are understood in the abstract. Hence the stylistic shape of the mask.
2000 12 15
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka
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