Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 6. (Budapest, 1963)
HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Rásonyi, Lydia: A Demon Mask from Ceylon
The name yakun-netima 9 includes all the exorcising or demon-worshipping ceremonies of the Sinhalese. According to Lucas, 10 the ceremony w T as used for warding of evil demons; in time it degenerated the same way as the kolam netima. Once a unitary, coherent whole, now it is but a patchwork of skillfully gathered fragments. The gara-yakuma or to(v)ile 11 is the demon ceremony arranged most rarely, as it can be performed only with the assistance of a large number of people. Its aim is to avert not only disease but also damage caused by the forces of nature, including such calamities as a cow going dry, termites destroying the house, slander by one's neighbour etc. A special rite for the cure of disease is called sanni-yakuma. 12 In Sinhalese popular belief illness is the work of demons in man. They plague and torture but by sacrifice they may be induced to cure as well. Every disease is caused by a different demon. Among them the mentioned Purnaka Yaka, lz the general of the demonic army, cuts an outstanding figure. He is the nephew of Vesanumi 1 ^ and the father of Dedimunda. 15 His figure used to be very popular of old, he played a prominent part in Sinhalese ballads, folk-tales and in various ceremonies. To-day he rarely appears. Pertold mentions in one his papers 16 that the demon is one of those averting disease in the sanni-yakuma rite, often regarded as a benevolent spirit. His ancient popularity is proved also by the fact that he w r as given a role in the profane kolam netima play. Comparing the mask of the Museum of Eastern Asiatic Art wdth the available illustrations 17 we see that this is also one of the Purnaka Yaka masks (Fig. 1). Our specimen is a large-size demon mask carved of wood. The lower part of the face protrudes like that of an ape. Its round eyes bulge, the nose is brutish, nostrils stand wide apart and the strong, round wings of the nose jut out. Its large, open mouth is extended to the middle of the cheeks, more bulging at the sides than in front. Here its acute laniary teeth touch each other. There is no forehead, a stylized crown of flames covers the head. The place of the ears is occupied by one round disc each with a round hole in the middle. The mask is painted and lacquered. The dominating colour of the face is dark red, the teeth are wliite. Above the eyes an ornament consisting of lotus petals arches and forms a frame. Between the arches of the eyes and the crown of flames a carved and vividly painted ornament runs along. The crown of flames is finely wrought both in carving and colouring with red, yellow and green paint. The ear ornaments are filled with a coloured lotus-flower pattern. The features of the Purnaka Yaka or Purnaka Rassaya 18 mask described by Lucas 19 are the following: demonic face, a characteristic yellow-red crown of flames on the head, with a white band below (in some cases), in all probability representing ashes. The face has bulging eyes, a brutishly protruding nose and wide red wings of the nose. It has a large mouth: the jaw is movable in some instances. It holds a human corpse among its spiked laniary teeth. The ear ornament is a round disc with lotus decoration and a treble tongue of flame at the top. The ears are missing in many cases. The face may be coloured in all shades of red, from rose to cherry-red to dark brownish-red (Fig. 2). The given analogy proves that the mask we are dealing with represents Purnaka Yaka, in spite of the fact that there is no cadaver in its mouth. Pertold publishes a Purnaka Yaka mask with an empty mouth from the collection
