mask, king of the nagas, naga raja

1916.9.264

Name and identification of character
The king of the cobras, na-rajjuruvo or naga raja (Sin.).

Context
A mythological character presenting a solo-dance in stage two in a Kolam performance.

Material
Wood, vel-kaduru (Sin.) (Nux vomica).

Iconography
The mask comprises a naturalistic face surmounted by an imposing upper frame consisting of a broad and spread out cobra hood. It shelters a dagoba (Sin.), a Buddhist relic chamber, sculpted in three tiers. The whole conception reminds one of an incident in the life of the Buddha. When the Buddha was seated under a banian tree, a naga (snake) chieftain named Maha-kela na Raju sheltered the Buddha from rain. The dagoba sculpted within the dilated hood in this mask denotes a distinct area of religious experience. The tiers of the dagoba are decorated with petal and creeper designs. The mask is tall and broad with a small face. Shoulder blades have been fixed in order to facilitate the dancer to balance the mask while in dance action, as in the masks depicting kings.

Comments on the Umlauff Catalogue
The identification of the mask as depicting ¿Naga canyabe¿ is wrong, both phonetically and in meaning. Naga kanyava (Sin.) means cobra maiden, but this cannot be a cobra maiden since these do not sport side-burns.

2000 07 06
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka