Garuda Mask

Mask Museum, Ambalangoda

This mask impersonates Garuda, the solar bird who is the vehicle of Vishnu. It is used in a Raksha Dance (Demon Dance) to frighten away the Cobra Demon. Garuda is decorated with the enemy snakes, as if they were a sort of trophy. The dance is apotropaic, its purpose being to magically avert the real danger that snakebite poses to the villagers.