Caught between extremes: the culture and economics of traditional mask art in contemporary Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

In contemporary Sri Lanka, the commodification of local mask production resulting from cultural tourism has caught the traditional mask artisan in a tight spot between “tradition” and “modernity”. The impacts of tourism are diversely received and interpreted within the local mask artisan community, with tourism simultaneously resulting in what can be called a “cultural discovery” and “cultural decline”. Within this cultural debate, this paper is an attempt to understand how the traditional mask artisan arrives at a balance between “tradition” and “modernity”, and culture and commerce. Qualitative research conducted in southern Sri Lanka shows that tradition and modernity are shifting conceptions. Negotiating a balance between tradition and modernity is, therefore, largely a matter of meaning and interpretation. When cultural commodification occurs, tradition and modernity are continuously redefined and reinvented by both the traditional mask artisan and cultural consumer to fit their own needs and agendas. Cultural commodification contributes to the survival and revival of Sri Lanka's mask tradition, a strategy that is simultaneously welcomed and contested within the local mask artisan community.

KEYWORDS:

• Mask art
• modernity
• tradition
• economics
• Sri Lanka

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the four anonymous reviewers and the Editor of the journal for their helpful comments and suggestions, which significantly improved the manuscript. Special thanks go to all the research participants as well as the owners and managers of the sales outlets, who helped the authors out by distributing and collecting the questionnaires, for their time and effort.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

W.S. Handapangoda is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Economics, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, where she has been a faculty member since 2000. She completed her Ph.D. in Global Studies at Doshisha University, Japan in 2011 and her undergraduate and master’s studies at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Her current research interests lie in the areas of culture and development, international migration, and women and children in post-conflict societies.

J.I. Madukala is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Economics, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka where she has been a faculty member since 2012. Madukala completed her undergraduate studies in Business Economics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and currently reading for her master’s in Economics at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her current research interests are culture and development, and rural poverty.

M.P.K. Withanawasam is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Economics, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka where he has been a faculty member since 2011. He completed his undergraduate studies in Business Economics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and master’s in Economics at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. His research interests lie in the areas of gravity model in trade agreements, and small and medium enterprises.

A.A.D.T. Saparamadu is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Economics, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka where she has been a faculty member since 2009. She completed her undergraduate studies in Business Economics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and master’s in Economics at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her research interests are international trade, and poverty and culture.

Notes

1. The 18 sanni demons and their effects are: bhutha sanniya (causes madness), deva sanniya (causes epidemic diseases, namely measles, mumps, smallpox, cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhoeas), golu sanniya (causes temporary dumbness), bheetha sanniya (causes temporary unconsciousness), gulma sanniya (causes stomach diseases and pains caused by parasitic worms), pissu sanniya (causes temporary insanity), jala sanniya (causes severe cold and shivering), amukku sanniya (causes stomach disorders and vomiting), kora sanniya (causes lameness/paralysis and swollen joints), gedi sanniya (causes furuncles), kana sanniya (causes blindness), maru sanniya (causes delirium), vatha sanniya (causes shaking and burning of limbs, and paralysis), naga sanniya (causes blisters and swellings), bihiri sanniya (causes deafness), gini jala sanniya (causes burning sensations in the body), pitha sanniya (causes diseases related to bile), and kōla sanniya (the chief of sanni yakku that causes death) (Wijesuriya 2001).

2. Exorcistic or apotropaic rituals centred on communities are called Gammaduwa and no longer have the social purpose or significance they once had in local communities (see Halverson 1971).

3. Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identity of the research participants whose narratives are presented herein.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka [grant number ASP/6/RE/2012/11], for which the authors are thankful.