I should have inserted this introduction in the appropriate place, but some how missed it. I see that Indra has done the needful by publishing it as a comment. So sorry about it.
Introduction by Indra:
We went to the opening day reception yesterday of this annual exhibit of RAINFOREST MASKS BY Costa Rican BORUCA tribe in a local botanical garden in south east , Florida.
The masks are carved in soft wood and then hand painted by craftsmen & women who hail from the southern part of the country.This year has been an exception because usually there are 1-3 of these artists in attendance demonstrating their work. Most of the masks get sold on day one itself and a line forms hours before the show opens. The masks have become collectors items and I could see the prices going up every year.There is one of our Sri Lankan doctors ( not our batch ) who has a extensive collection of masks from different nations and most of you know him. However I am not sure if he has one from Costa Rica because I saw his collection over 15 years ago.
Costa Rica is a Central American nation, Spanish speaking , has no army and one of the top environmentally conscious nations in the world and incredibly clean & pretty. It is known for its beaches ( the west coast ones have white sand, east coast beaches have volcanic sand) the country is host to an active volcano in Arenal ,which also has wonderful thermal springs, pretty rainforests, several species of pretty multicolored frogs, most of them however are poisonous, varieties of birds including Toucans and the endangered gorgeous Quetzal. We went zip lining over the rain forests several years ago.
I have included here photographs of the masks from the exhibit at Marie Selby gardens in Sarasota. The ones with red stickers were sold on day one within an hour of the start.
A picture is worth a thousand words according to an old Chinese saying. I hope you do enjoy what we loved very much.
Click on photo to enlarge
ReplyDeleteWe went to the opening day reception a few days ago, of this annual exhibit of RAINFOREST MASKS BY Costa Rican BORUCA tribe in a local botanical garden in south west , Florida.
The masks are carved in soft wood and then hand painted by craftsmen & women who hail from the southern part of the country.This year has been an exception because usually there are 1-3 of these artists in attendance demonstrating their work. Most of the masks get sold on day one itself and a line forms hours before the show opens. The masks have become collectors items and I could see the prices going up every year.There is one of our Sri Lankan doctors ( not our batch ) who has a extensive collection of masks from different nations and most of you know him. However I am not sure if he has one from Costa Rica because I saw his collection over 15 years ago.
Costa Rica is a Central American nation, Spanish speaking , has no army and one of the top environmentally conscious nations in the world and incredibly clean & pretty. It is known for its beaches ( the west coast ones have white sand, east coast beaches have volcanic sand) the country is host to an active volcano in Arenal ,which also has wonderful thermal springs, pretty rainforests, several species of pretty multicoloured frogs, most of them however are poisonous, varieties of birds including Toucans and the endangered gorgeous Quetzal. We went zip lining over the rainforests several years ago.
I have included here photographs of the masks from the exhibit at Marie Selby gardens in Sarasota. The ones with red stickers were sold on day one within an hour of the start.
A picture is worth a thousand words according to an old Chinese saying. I hope you do enjoy what we loved very much.
My friend Michael Mars, co-director of the Sri Lankan Cleft Lip and Palate Project, retired Consultant Orthodontist of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, has many Sri Lankan masks in his house in Ealing. He had acquired these during his numerous visits to Galle in the 1980s.He has many other Sri Lankan items of furniture like antique almirahs, arm chairs(hansi putuwas), pots, ceramic and copper items and ancient maps of Ceylon. It is like a museum of old Ceylon.
ReplyDeleteSanath
Indra, Thank you for bringing this colorful and fascinating exhibition from Sarasota to us, to enjoy in the comfort of our own homes all over the world.
ReplyDeleteThese are of very detailed and intricate design, and also with rainforest themes , and I can see why they get snapped up so fast.The colors are vibrant and eye-catching. Thankyou also for the details on Costa Rica.
Though I have been to Costa Rica some years ago, it was too brief a visit to see a lot of it,as it was a stop on one of the Panama Canal cruises.
Thanks again for bringing their art to all to us.
Iam sure the artists in the blog- Lucky Weerasooriya and Srianee(Bunter ) would love this.
I am told that Lucky Weerasooriya is not in the best of health these days. It is probably for this reason that he doesn't contribute to the blog these days. Let us all wish Lucky good health this year.
ReplyDeleteLucky, I am so sorry to hear this . I do wish him the best in every way.
DeleteI remember him well in med school,as a very nice guy.
Thankyou for letting us know.
Yes, Rohini and Lucky, Lucky W is not in the best of health. He and his wife are in an assisted living facility in Fort Myers close to one of their sons. I managed to visit them when I was down in Florida with my family in August 2016. He did say that he is having some difficulty with emails and such after the move, and perhaps may not have got around to resolving the technical issues involved. He may be checking the Blog even if he doesn't comment. Lucky, if you see this we are all thinking of you and wish you well. Perhaps Indra might see him this winter.
DeleteThanks, Lucky & Srianee D. for letting us know about Lucky W.
DeleteMy only wish is for him and his dear wife to get better & be comfortable.
Hopefully may come on line again sooner than later.
Razaque
This is to send special wishes to Lucky W for a full and speedy recovery. I know I am commenting late, but I am saying a special prayer for his good health and will look out in these pages for good news. Zita
DeleteAs I often do, I jumped to 'comment' and didn't realise that what I was asking you to do is already here. What beauties they are! How intricate it really must be to get this look and result! Well done! from Zita
ReplyDeleteMe again, I mean well done, to the artists and people who made the exhibition but well done to Indra for taking the trouble to make these available for us to see on the Blog. Zita
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful and fascinating! I confess willingly of my ignorance on thus subject. I love the vibrant colours and intricate designs. My late comment comes from a Lounge at BIA waiting to board my flight back to Manchester. I have not visited the blog for some time but will resume normal activity!
ReplyDeleteThese are absolutely gorgeous! They do seem to have an environmental theme, with animals, birds and vegetation being depicted. Some don't actually look like masks which can be worn over a person's face. They are different from the Sri Lankan masks which have faces of mythological figures. Indra, I am curious, are they or were they used in any cultural rituals, such as the 'devil dancing' rituals in Sri Lanka. I remember moving to Karawanella in 1969 to work in the hospital there, and being surprised to see an authentic 'devil dancing' ceremony taking place in the house across the street, where someone had been ill for some time. I was under the impression that such ceremonies were only being staged for the benefit of tourists, and that the actual practice was non-existent. I don't recall if the ceremony was successful and if the sick individual got better!
ReplyDeleteIndra, thank you for sharing these beautiful images.
Really great Art work from that part of the world And thank you o much Indra for bringing them to our awe and enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteI do have a Devil Dancer's mask from Hikkaduwa and one mask draws a lot of attention to the local uninitiated Jocks!!!
Razaque
The masks have an environmental theme because
ReplyDelete1. the Costa Ricans are probably one of the most environmentally conscious nations in the world. The place has a lot of coconut trees but you never see dried leaves or coconut shells thrown around. I could give you other examples but then it becomes a subject by itself.
2. They live not too far from the rain forests with their various fauna & flora and that is what we are seeing in their artistic renditions. There are over fifty varieties of frogs, most of them are multi colored but poisonous, so are the snakes. They,the jaguars and the Toucans get top billing in the masks .
3. The masks apparently were used years ago to scare away the Spaniards who colonized them. There is an annual festival- the festival of the Diabilitos, that re-enacts history in Boruca when the Spaniards were defeated with the help of masks . It seems that the ones seen in Selby annually are more artistic than functional and raise money not only for the gardens but for the Boruca people ( artists ).The works represent the works of the top painters & carvers.This happened when people started to buy the masks from the festival.
Caravan.excellent tours covering the area for years and at a fair price for decent facilities etc.
Thanks Indra for these additional interesting details. Costa Rica is a popular place for "semesters abroad" for American college students who focus on environmental studies. We can learn a lot from that country.
DeleteIt has a lot of American & Canadian snow birds who have homes there, most of them on the west coast. If my memory is correct it is also not far from the US in flying time.
Deleteia
Thank you Indra for this fascinating post.The comments were great too.
ReplyDeleteThe SriLankan airlines inflight magazine ,Srendib current issue (Jan 2018)has a good article on masks from Southern SriLanka.
The link is www.srilankan.com/serendib
Incidentally this is one of the best inflight magazines I have come across.
Kumar