wood mask

Wooden Masks are produced mainly in the South western coastal belt of Sri Lanka. Of all the areas of the South-western coastal belt, the city of Ambalangoda has a long heritage in the specialized handicraft of producing Wooden Masks. Wooden Masks in a wide range of sizes in vibrant colors are made of the timber of a tree locally called 'Kaduru” (strychnos nux vomica). Kaduru tree that grows in marshy lands bordering paddy fields is light and soft making it an ideal material to turn out wooden masks.
The technique of producing masks has been passed from generation to generation from the ancient times. The logs of Kaduru are dried in the hard tropical sun till the sticky juice of the timber is evaporated and then cut into pieces of the required sizes.Then the basic shape of the mask is fashioned by means of chisels and mallets out of the cut piece of the log accordingly to the measurements given in ancient recorded instructions. Seasoning of the timber follows, with smoking for six or seven day in a hearth. The seasoned piece of timber is carved, smoothened and painted. The Wooden masks, each with its distinctive features and colors, are carved to depict gods, humans, demons and beasts.