ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Place Made

Date Collected

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Source

Measurements

Condition

Accession Number

Iconographic Meaning

This character is usually depicted as a bird wrapped in coils of fighting cobras with spread hoods and is usually painted red, symbolizing serpent blood. Na, short for naga is a semi-divine being in the form of a cobra. A naga is very powerful and dangerous. It symbolizes the life force that motivates birth and rebirth; the conquest of the blind will for life; fertility and opulence and wealth.

Cultural Context

exorcism

History Of Use

The Kolam is a secular entertainment with considerable elements of social satire. It incorporates narrative, mime, dance, and music. A Kolam performance usually has four episodes the precise content of which may vary. These consist of a prelude, detailing the origin of the drama; the arrival of a royal party and dances by characters mythical, human and animal; enactment of a popular story or stories; and a purifying demon dance. This mask represents Na Gurulu or Bhuma-Naraja (Garuda of snakes) which depicts a great mythical bird which devours snakes.

Description

Mask depicting a bird figure: the central head segment (a) has a pink and red beak, large bulging eyes, eyebrows with a petal motif in red, yellow, green, white and black, a scaled pattern in red, yellow, white, pink, grey and black on the face, and a headdress composed of three cobras with their hoods extended; the earpieces (b and c) are two cobras, each with their heads extended upwards and their tails wrapped around a dish-shaped disc that has a flower design.