Sri Lankan Traditional Dances - - - Lower Country Dance

 Sri Lankan Traditional Dances  chapter 02

Kolam Dance

The exact date of its beginning is uncertain; however, according to written records, the kolam drama dates back to the 15th century. However, this only an assumption given in the scholarly literature on kolam. The story of the genesis of kolam is as follows;

"In the past there was a king called Raja Maha-Sammatha. His queen was pregnant and she was craving for a performance by a group wearing masks. Even though, the royal dancing troupes delivered performances, the queen was not satisfied. Even performances from different countries were of no available.

Hence, the queen and the king were disappointed. God Indra (or Shakra according to some sources), invoked the god of creation and demanded that queen’s cravings were satisfied. The god of creation created a mask and a book with instructions and hid those in the royal garden. The gardener revealed the information the following day. Hence the king ordered the royal performers to wear the masks and perform. Queen’s craving was thus satisfied.

The birth place of kolam is the southern maritime area. It is fair to assume that the places where kolam masks were crafted were also the places where it was originated. At present, there are skilled artists who make masks, paint, practice drama, play drums, and dance. The drama was mainly popular in the maritime areas from Panadura to Tangalle, and suburbs in the interior of the country. Ambalangoda, Benthara, Mirissa, Matara, Rayigam korale olaboduwa, Hokandara, and Siyane Koralaye Gampaha were such areas. This is mainly because Kolam drama is linked with the low country dance tradition. However, there are some places such as Mirissa udupila, Ambalangoda, olaboduwa, Pokunuwita, Kurudippita where Kolam dance is practiced at present.

The performing crew of kolam is commonly known as kuttama. The word kolam kuttama is used to call the collection of masks used in the performance. Maha Ambalangoda Tukkawaduge Harischandra is a group which performs at present. The leader of the group is Tukkawaduge Gunadasa. Ambalangoda Hirewatta Juan Wadu Ariyapala is another group. The current owner of the group is Manushika Wijesuriya. Mirissa Udupila group was led by Martin Amarasinghe. At present, it is managed by S.P. Edwin. Mirissa South Batugoda group is managed by Richard Weeraratne. Horana Olaboduwa group is managed by O.N.S. Fernando. Hokandara Thomas Aladdin’s group is managed by him. There is also a group managed by Daniel Aduruthilaka. Further, there is a group managed by M.K. Justin in Pelawatte. Miriswatte Raigama Robiyas Udawatte and the group has recently performed a kolam drama.

The kolam performance has three main components; preparation, main act and the conclusion. For preparation, villagers get together and allocate a date, set up the kolam maduwa, and prepares the arena for the act. The main act is divided into two parts; pre-performance and post-performance. The pre performance sets the context for the act symbolizing the king and queen arriving to watch the play. Before the queen arrives, a performative act is used to prepare the place (anabera kolama, mudali kolama, jasa kolama are examples). After the queen and king arrive, the act takes a hyper-realistic tone and depicts characters such as gods, demons and other spirits. The post-performance enacts a story. The act is particularly long, and uses Buddha’s life stories and historical stories. Stories such as Sandakinduru, Maname, Gotaimbara are popular among those. There is a uniform order for the performance of kolam dance drama even though there can be slight differences.

0        01. The arrival of the Chief (Sabhapathi)

0        02. Police kolama

0        03. Arachchi kolama

0        04. Anabera and Nonchi kolama

0        05. Hewa kolama

06. Jasa kolama(Lenchina and Puransina arrive here)

07. Mudali kolama(Appu, Henchappu and Liyanappu arrive)

08. Queen and King arrive

09. Sinhaa,Walas kolama

10. Surabawalliya Kolama

11. Naga Kanya Kolama

12. Naga Raksha Kolama

13.Narilatha Kolama

14. Giridevi Kolama

15. Purnaka, Maru, Rathnakuta Raksha

16. Marakkala/Demala Kolama

17. Karapita Kolama

18. The main act

19. Gara nateema

20. Invoking merits to god and playing drums

Then arrives the final section of the act, which is more ritualistic. The Kolam is concluded by boiling milk and making offering to goddess Paththini, the following day.

The main act has so far used the following stories;

The Kolam theatre is known as Karaliyaor thanayam pola. Some kolam verses also use the term Sabaya, which is a place where people are assembled. However, the common usage is Kolam Rangamadala. Therefore, all terms such as Thanayampola, sabhawa, sabaya, karaliya, kolam pola, kolam maduwa, ranga bhoomidenote the place were kolam dance is enacted.

The theatre is circular in shape. Usually, a public space or a garden of a village elite is used for this occasion. However, it is mandatory that the space is outdoor. There is no evidence that traditional kolam dance has ever performed indoors. If one performs sections of the kolam dance, those are performed indoors. In the center, towards the back of the circular space is the main prop, which is also known as the wes aththa. It is made of Goroka, Burulla or Arecanut leaves, and is of 7 meters in height. There is a hut built behind the wes atta, known as andum ge.This hut is used to keep the clothes of performers, get dressed for the act and to rest.

On the left is a structure called “yahana”. It consists of 04 parts. This is built for the 04 main gods (sathara waram deviyan). There is no common understanding of the four gods. According to some sources, Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama, and Paththini are the four gods. According to Buddhist literature, they are Dutharadha, Virupa, Virupaksha and Vaishwana. Close to the “yahana” is another structure made of coconut leaves known as “pahan pala”. It is a circular weaving and used to light a lamp for the Gambhara / Sooniyam god.

The space where the act is performed is separated using weaved coconut leaves. Around the space are trunks of banana trees and 08 structures of punkalas (pots of prosperity). There are also lamps made of coconuts placed on the surface of these structures. The arena is traditionally lightened by this. Kitson lamps, kerosene lamps and Petrol max lamps have been come in to use over time. At present light bulbs and sound systems are also used.

The performers enter the arena from either side of the. Once the act is over, they go back to the andumge. The audience sits on the floor to watch the act , and it is always played overnight. The kolam music consists of singing and playing instruments. The low country drum or devol beraya is mainly used here. Further, thaalam pota, horanewa, also used. The dancers wear rahu kuttam, silambu kuttam; even though these generate sound, these are not considered musical instruments. However, the combination of all of the above generates beautiful music.

low country drum is used to play verses / rhythms associated with low country dance. There are verses associated with each character in a kolam drama. Verses such as ashirwadha, dewa aradhanaa sung before the commencement of the kolam drama. Further, the magul bera played before the commencement and pin bera after performance. The horanewa occupies an important place in Kolam drama.

The singing has its own characteristics. Some melodies cannot be found in other common verses. For example, Jasa, Lenchina, Surabawalliya, Sandakinduru,very unique. However, the Kolam singing is seemingly influenced by the nadagam and kapirinna singing styles.

There is an inextricable link between kolam drama and masks. Masks are used in Sinhala thovil ceremonies too; however, those used in kolam drama have their own distinctive features. Except the Chief (sabhapathi, sabe vidane, kariya karawana raala) every other character wears a mask. The masks are attractive and artistic. These are created according to standards and painted to highlight the features of a particular character. The masks used in kolam drama can be divided into three categories;

Masks which represent human beings: King, Queen, Hewa, Jasa, Lenchina, Suransina, Arachchi, Mudali, Chencha, Liyanappu

Over-realistic masks: Nari-latha, sandakinduru, gurulu, surabawalliya, giridevi, Raksha

Animal masks: Lion, tiger, fox, dog, eagle

The making of masks is a complex process. The process is included in three texts written in Sanskrit; Shariputraya, Rupawaliya, Maimathaya.The making of a kolammask has the following steps;

Cutting the tree and processing the timber,

Flattening,

Removing unnecessary sections,

Smoking,

Cutting shapes,

Crafting shapes,

Painting.

Trees such as Walkaduru (Alyxia ceylanica Wight) and Rukattana (Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br).are used for making masks. At present, Erabadu (Erythrina variegata L.) and Kotta pulun (Ceiba pentandra var. pentandra) trees are also used. The techniques of painting are part of the traditional knowledge system. Usually, these colors are obtained from raw materials in their own environment. The painting is done meticulously. King, queen and other elite characters are painted in orange, pale red, yellow and white. The villagers are painted in brown, grey, green and yellow. For over-realistic characters, red, black, brown and pale pink are used. At present, the making of masks is done in two days, and are painted using artificial colors.

Related Article : Sri Lankan Traditional Mask  , 

                          Sri Lankan Traditional Dances : Chapter 01