Surga Divya Rajaya Item Number: 3392/10 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A watercolour painting which depicts a spiritual being with a crouching, horse-like animal at its feet, against a blue background. The being has yellow skin, and is wearing a brown wrap around skirt that ends just below the knee. The bottom of the skirt has a border made up of white, yellow, blue, and brown horizontal stripes and the skirt edges meet at the front. A blue, striped sash is draped diagonally across the chest. Adornments are worn around the chest, neck, biceps, wrists, and ankles. The being has stretched earlobes which extend to its chin and is wearing a headpiece with a small decoration on top and side panels that extend across the shoulders. At the being's feet, between the legs, is a crouching, horse-like animal in white (unpainted), with a long face and a short mane and tail. The background is all blue, except for an unpainted archway behind the being's head. A rectangular black border surrounds the image.
The imagery is possibly associated with ritual healing in Sri Lanka. The set of watercolours (3392/3-34) is said to depict spirits that inhabit planets, or deviyo (minor gods) or rakshas and yakkas (evil or mischievous beings). These beings are often depicted in masked dances and exorcisms.
The collector, Dr. Michael 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 (Hambantota District), between Sept. 1965 and Nov. 1966.