mask, skulptur, figur, raja mulu sanni yaka, maha-kola sanni yaka

1916.9.326

Name and identification of character
The head of the Sanni demon family, variously designated: Maha-kola sanni yaka, Raja-mulu sanni yaka, Daha-ata-Sanniya/Daha-ata sanni yaka (Sin.). Yaka, meaning demon, is alternatively referred to as yaksaya.

Context
The character occupies the main place in the Sanni ritual, known as the Sanni yakuma, or the Daha-ata sanniya (c. f. note on 1916.9.320). It is not a mask used in dance, but is exhibited on the side of the ritual arena.

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

Iconography
The mask is composite and in the form of a triptych. The panels cannot be folded. The iconographic details and colour combinations are very similar to 1916.9.320.

Central panel: The standing demon is taller than the demon figures in 1916.9.320-321, 327. But the iconographic features, except for the bottom mask, are identical. At the top and at the bottom are two masks; the former is in the shape of a cobra demon, and the latter in the shape of a maha gara demon.

The bottom mask displays some traits (the forehead) of a drummer's mask, panikkale (Sin.). Other features are similar to the specimens noted above. The top mask resembles that of a cobra demon, naga rassaya (Sin.). The most prominent feature is the circle, vattuva (Sin.), of five cobra hoods forming a crown. The skin is shed and the overlapping scales remain. The central cobra-hood is expanded. The interior of the hoods display variegated geometric patterns.

The demon figure stands upright on the bottom mask. The upper part of the figure including the chest and hands are bare and painted black interspersed with crow's feet decorations, kaka-pada (Sin.), in white. The demon wears a skirt; a variegated coloured cloth denominated a somana (Sin.), composed of different designs. It has a waist ornament, ina-hädaya (Sin.). The somana displays flower and leaf designs painted in green, yellow, white and red. Below the hem of the cloth the legs and feet are bare and painted in the same way as the chest. The hands bend upwards clutching a corpse (this human figure is detached). At the foot of the figure are two humans whose features do not disclose any sign of fear or anxiety. They are happily seated, holding the legs of the demon unmindful of their predicament. The figures do not determine the frame of mind and the temperament of a person in the throes of fear.

The two panels (B and C) on either side contain the usual smaller Sanni masks. As in specimens 1916.9.320-321, 327 there are only 17 masks and not eighteen. Although the number is believed to be eighteen, the two masks at the head of each panel are identical. So are some of the masks on the vertical panels. Definitive demarcation of each mask in different categories is not possible due to their smallness and similar sculptural features. There is one mask on the right panel, which suggests features of a moneylender, which has no connection to the Sanni group.

Two cobras, twining up from the bottom mask and ending on the shoulders of the demon figure, frame the entire mask structure. The panels are fixed together by means of cross beams attached to the back of the structure. Coir yarns is used to tie the structure in an erect position.

2001 01 15
Dr. M. H. Goonatilleka