Mask Item Number: 3392/1 a-c from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A Gara Raksha (demon) mask. The mask is comprised of a face (part a) and two detached ears (parts b-c). All three parts are painted green, red, and white. The mask's eyes are cone-shaped, and protrude dramatically away from the face. Underneath each eye is a crescent shaped hole which allows the wearer to see. The mask's nose is pointed, with a bump on the bridge and two large nostrils. Its large, red mouth is filled with teeth, and two curved tusks that extend outwards from either corner. The mask's bottom jaw is secured via string, allowing the mouth to open and close. Three cobras with flared hoods extend upwards from the top of the mask. The one in the centre is the largest, and extends from the mask's forehead. The two smaller cobras extend from each of its temples. Around both of the mask's eyes and across the bridge of the nose is a decorative pattern comprised of round, elongated shapes. The mask's ears (parts b-c) are round, concave discs with lotus flower motifs painted on. There is a small hole in the centre of each disc, and a wooden peg extends from a point on the outer rim. When attached, the ears flare outwards from the sides of the mask's face. The back of the mask is unpainted. A braided rope and piece of thin cloth are tied through small holes in the mask, in order secure it to the wearer's face.
The Gara Raksha (demon) mask typically has large ears in the shape of a lotus, a fanged mouth, bulging eyes and three cobra heads. This demon plays a prominent role in certain tovil healing rites, and appears in kolam popular drama. This mask is for ritual healing through masked dancing, and the entity represented by the mask is somewhat scary as it possesses people and gives them a type of illness associated with the particular raksha or demon.
The collector, Dr. Egan, wrote his doctoral thesis on healing rituals in Sri Lanka. His fieldwork was carried out in the south of Sri Lanka, in the village of Kadurupokuna, near the town of Tangalla (Hambantota District), between Sept. 1965 and Nov. 1966. His thesis documents a Sinhalese healing ritual, the Maha Sohona (or Maha Sona) Sumayama (the time when the demon Maha Sohona appears), performed on August 18, 1966, in the Berava drummer hamlet, in the village of Kadurupokuna.