Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 6. (Budapest, 1963)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM - MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Rásonyi, Lydia: A Demon Mask from Ceylon

are either the causes or the healers of a disease. According to Lucas a large, general exorcist rite arose in Inner Asia at an early date, spreading partly to North America and partly to Ceylon. All the demons mentioned in Sinhalese legends originate from the northern areas of India. These legends add that in olden times, before people became Buddhists, Maha Nuvara (,,the Great Forest" in the Far-North) was depopulated through various epidemics and drought caused by the demon king, Maha Kola ("the Great Black"). According to Tibetan traditions in ancient times the people of the country was decimated by Y ama, the God of Death. It is also remarkable that the personifiers of the Ceylonese demons hold bundles of foliage called samara (Sanskrit chamara) in their hands during the dance. For the rest samara is the Sinhalese name for the Tibetan domestic animal, the yak. Wirz

6 reports that of old a real yak tail ( samara-valga) was used during the ritual dances on the island of Lanka (being the Sinhalese name for Ceylon). The connection is evident, enabling us to anticipate the statement that the Ceylonese masks are not of local origin and their existence is not isolated since they are the accessories of ceremonial attire. The best known and the most important masked play is called kolam, netima or Icolam natanava? According to Pertold it is the degenerated remnant of an ancient magic fertility rite. This supposition is, however, rejected by Lucas, as he found references to fertility in two scenes only. We must put the holam masks to the group of theatre masks irregardless of the fact that the cultic origin of most of them is evident. The kolam netima may have been a pantomime at first, speech and song were later added to some parts. To-day it survives in the coastal regions of Southern Ceylon, on Sinhalese territory, transformed to a popular opera preserving ancient traditions, played in one week of the year. The performance consists of two main parts: the prelude and the play itself. A short interlude used to be given between them. As an introduction two or three dancers appear without masks. Sometimes they wear some, but these are very old specimens without any connection whatsoever to the actual play. The dancers invoke Buddha and the various gods, then they salute the donors of the performance. Now the masked, costumed players of the prelude make their appearance : the policeman and his antagonist, the village elder with the notary, the warrior and his adversary, the drummer and his wife, the laundry-man and the washer-woman, the wholesale-dealer with his entourage, the king with his ministers and the crown-prince, various demons and an old astrologer, blessing the audience. The actors of the interlude are the ox and the leopard. Originally this part belonged to the prelude as well. Here, as before, emphasis is laid chiefly on mimicry. In the principal part old legends and sagas are performed. Recently the plays are completed by village stories, modern anecdotes and consequently new characters. Grouped according to the appearance of the masks, the following parts figure in the kolam netima: a) Kings nobles and deities. b) Warriors, policemen, dwarfs and giants, beggars and the various peoples and tribes of Ceylon, e. g., Moors, Vecldas, Rodiyas. c) The world of Naga (snake-demon) and Garuda (mythical bird). The