mask (ansiktsmask), Podi Panikkale

1916.9.88

Name and identification of character
A young drummer, Podi Panikkale (Sin.).

Context
This character appears with the drummer's family in the Kolam skit Anabera Kolama (Sin.).

Material
Wood, Vel-kaduru (Nux vomica).

Iconography
The mask belongs to the same category as 1916.9.82-83. The headgear is indicative of the uramava (Sin.), the kind of low-cut turban that the drummers wear; a firmly tied piece of white cloth with the two ends hanging down the sides. It is decorated with a variety of patterns in blue, green, purple, and white. The face is pink in colour. The ears are small. The mouth is closed and painted in thick red.

Comments on the Umlauff Catalogue
The mask is described as that of a Tamil in the Umlauff Catalogue. But the iconography of the mask does not fit this description.

2000 06 13
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka