Kolam” – Masked folk drama

Posted on February 10, 2012

Kolum, literally “putting on a character,” is a masked folk drama with chanted poetry, dialogue, song and dance. Dancers wear imaginative and outrageous masks, some of an enormous size, representing gods, demons and mythical creatures of Sinhalese folklore. The Kolam is essentially a burlesque of life in the simple setting of a village. Performances occur at night under the light of coconut torches in a circular space, usually with a structure of palm leaves erected on one side to serve both as a backdrop and as a dramatic entrance. A narrator and two drummers stand by the side of the entrance.
The origin of the kolam drama is legendary, probably based on a story about a mythical queen who wished to become pregnant. The dances that compose the performance are therefore sexually symbolic.
 Various characters appear on stage – policemen, clerks, washer men, and others associated with the court of the king. The stories that follow the introduction of these masked characters have been developed from some of the masterpieces of the island’s Buddhist and secular literature. Each character or group of characters in these performances is introduced by the narrator in a four-line chant. The character then moves to centre stage while executing the dance movements associated with him.