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Ethnographic Museum

Media Release and Material

Zurich, 7 July 2023

Who Sees What? Ritual Costumes from Sri Lanka, a Reflection on Encounters

The workspace exhibition “Mask Dances?” at the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich showcases newly acquired masks, costumes and ritual objects from Sri Lanka. Until 1947, such objects, originally used in healing rituals and ritual dances, were also part of the Zurich “Völkerschauen” ethnic shows, at which “natives from Ceylon” performed “devil dances”. The exhibition is intended to create space for dialogue and exchange and to critically reflect on the museum’s own history.

The German ethnologists Wolfgang Mey and Anna Wischkowski-Mey collected over 700 objects, including masks, other costume pieces and ritual objects from Sri Lanka, over two decades from 1984 to 2006. The collection was recently acquired by the Ethnographic Museum – just how recently is evident from the many transport and storage boxes still containing objects piled up at the back of the exhibition room. Sometimes visitors to the exhibition will also see the restorers, the registrar and the curator going about their work: unpacking, examining, recording, conserving, repacking or placing items in the exhibition.

Mask Dances? 5 Questions on Ritual Costumes from Sri Lanka is the fourth exhibition in the workspace series at the UZH Ethnographic Museum – a series designed to raise questions and make museum research processes visible. That means the exhibition will keep evolving right through to September 2024. The basic underlying credo, however, remains the same: encounters with apparent “others” are actually meetings of contemporaries to which all parties bring specific knowledge and skills. Such encounters are opportunities to hear diverse voices and to exchange experiences – provided those involved are willing and able to really attend to and listen to each other carefully. The exhibition is an invitation to do so. Conceptually, it is arranged around three different epochs:

1984 to 2006: the collecting of objects in Sri Lanka

At the center is the intensive ethnological research conducted by Wolfgang Mey and Anna Wischkowski-Mey on healing rituals and Kolam dances in the Ambalangoda region of south-west Sri Lanka. From 1984 to 2006, the two ethnologists, together with Sinhalese ritual specialists such as Bandu Wijesooriya and Karolis Gurunnanse (Master Karolis), researched and documented ritual practices, that is performative actions that combine spiritual, political and social concerns and also provide entertainment. Over the years, long-term relationships characterized by trust and mutual appreciation were formed between the ethnologists and the local specialists. The collection consists of a great number of objects given to or bought by the researchers, which the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich was able to purchase in 2022 thanks to the UZH Investment Fund.

1885 to 1947: Zurich “Völkerschauen” with people from “Ceylon”

Almost 100 years earlier, the enterprising businessman Carl Hagenbeck, who specialized in “ethnic shows”, brought his “anthropological-zoological Sinhalese exposition” to Switzerland for the first time. In 1885, visitors could watch displays featuring 51 people from “Ceylon”, as Sri Lanka was then known, as well as 12 elephants and eight zebu cattle. The focus of such shows lay not in giving an authentic portrayal of a real culture, but rather in staging a lucrative spectacle. Much remains unknown about the shows – such as whether the Sri Lankans had come to Europe voluntarily, if they had a say in what they performed, and what they thought about the Zurich audiences. Neither do we know whether the Swiss public regarded these “strangers” as real individuals, as their contemporaries.

People from Sri Lanka were on show in Zurich on at least six separate occasions that we know of – the last time in Circus Knie on Sechseläutenplatz in 1947. These “ethnic shows” are a murky chapter in the history of the city of Zurich and an aspect of Switzerland’s past which the country has only recently begun to deal with. The “Mask Dances?” exhibition aims to create a space in which the topic can be brought out of the shadows and finally examined and discussed.

From 2023: the collection as impulse for encounters and reflections

The Ethnographic Museum is using the newly acquired Mey Wischkowski collection as an opportunity to reflect on the past, to shape the present, and to intuit the future, all from a perspective of contemporaneous equals. “At the time these “ethnic shows” took place, many ethnographic museums in Europe were acquiring masks and ritual objects from Sri Lanka. But the record cards were fairly devoid of information,” says curator Martina Wernsdörfer, Asia specialist at the Ethnographic Museum. “Thanks to the Mey Wischkowski collection, such objects can now be seen in a new light and interpreted differently.” One aspect that was not picked up on for many years is the criticism by the indigenous people of their colonial masters depicted in the Kolam dances: the Sri Lankan people observed the affected manners of the European colonialists and mimicked them in their performances. The masks that represented the colonial rulers were seen (by the westerners) as “exotic” and eagerly collected.

“The “Mask Dance?” exhibition sets the stage for communal observing, researching, reflecting, questioning and knowledge sharing,” says Wernsdörfer. How and in what direction the exhibition evolves between now and September next year will depend on who comes into conversation with whom. “You are all invited to take part and contribute to the reflections that emerge from this workshop exhibition format.”

Mask Dances? 5 Questions on Ritual Costumes from Sri Lanka
Exhibition in the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich
Pelikanstr. 40, 8001 Zurich
14 July 2023 to 15 September 2024
Tue, Wed, Fri 10:00am to 5:00pm; Thu 10:00am to 7:00pm; Sat 2:00pm to 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am to 5:00pm

Exhibition opening event: 13 July 2023 at 6:00pm

Download press release (PDF, 123 KB)11.07.2023 «Mask Dances?»

Workspace series
Mask Dances? is the fourth exhibition in the workspace series. The workspace concept shows the research process behind a particular collection, oriented around five keywords, namely provenance, context, skill, contemporaneity and reconnection. The Ethnographic Museum thereby hopes to contribute to the current debate around provenance and decolonization.

Contacts

Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich
Dr. Martina Wernsdörfer, curator
+41 44 634 90 21
wernsdoerfer@vmz.uzh.ch


Media Relations
University of Zurich
+41 44 634 44 67
mediarelations@kommunikation.uzh.ch

 

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Weiterführende Informationen

Images

Naga Raksha mask from the former possession of the ritual specialist and Kolam master Bandu Wijesooriya. In Sri Lanka, Naga Raksha ("Snake Demons") appear in the Kolam dance. Their task is to keep unwholesome influences away from the human world.

Provenance: Gift from Bandu Wijesooriya to Wolfgang Mey, Ambalangoda, 1990. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

This ensemble of masks shows representatives of specific social groups: two colonial rulers, an Englishman and a Portuguese (right); an African (top left); and two members of Muslim communities (top centre, bottom left). These masks reveal indigenous views of "foreigners", which are formulated in the Kolam dance.

Provenance: Acquired from Bandu Wijesooriya and in antique shops, Ambalangoda region, 1990s. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

A look at the exhibition. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger

In the lion scene (Singha Kolama) in the Kolam dance, the lion couple delights the king and queen with their elaborate dances – accompanied by the sound and rhythm of drums.

Photo: Wolfgang Mey, Ambalangoda region, 1980s.

Mey Wischkowski Collection

Mey Wischkowski Collection

More about Mey Wischkowski Collection

Masks and other costume components from the collection of Wolfgang Mey and Anna Wischkowski-Mey. Today's museum objects were once ritual equipment. They were embedded in the two important ritual cycles of Sri Lanka: Kolam dance and healing or demon banishing rituals (Tovil).

Provenance: Acquired from ritual masters and in the Ariyarathna Antique Shop, Ambalangoda region, 1980s–1990s. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

Such masks originally made their appearance in the Sanni Yakuma, an important healing and demon banishing ritual. They represent demonic forces that afflict people when they are in a physical and/or mental imbalance. Thus Kora Sanniya (centre left) causes paralysis and Kana Sanniya (bottom right) causes blindness.

Provenance: Acquired from ritual masters and in antique shops, Ambalangoda region, 1980s–2000s. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

Riri Yaka, the "Blood Demon" causes disturbances in the composition of the blood. He appears in the Sanni Yakuma, an important healing and demon banishing ritual. His name says it all: he wears a mask of red-painted wood and a wig in shades of red. This photo shows Riri Yaka driving a tractor to or from a ritual performance.

Photo: Wolfgang Mey, Ambalangoda region, 1988.

The Pali characters are the precursors and companions of the Sanni demons in the Sanni Yakuma, a healing and demon banishing ritual. They too have demonic characteristics. At the same time, they free the sick from physical and spiritual impurities. Thembili Paliya (left), for example, cleanses the ritual site with the pure water of the king coconut.

Provenance: Acquired from ritual masters and in antique shops, Ambalangoda region, 1980s–1990. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

Calf Bells and Jingle Straps

Calf Bells and Jingle Straps

More about Calf Bells and Jingle Straps

The performances of the dancers in the Kolam dance and in the healing and demon banishing rituals (Tovil) are always accompanied by sound. The sound of bells or jingles marks the rhythm of the dance. In its spiritual dimension, as euphony, it has a good influence on the ritual and the people involved in it.

Provenance: Acquired from Bandu Wijesooriya and in the Ariyarathna Antique Shop, Ambalangoda region, 1990s. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

Performance of Gurula Raksha

Performance of Gurula Raksha

More about Performance of Gurula Raksha

Gurula, the "Eagle" is one of the 24 Raksha ("protective Demons"). Through his appearance in the Kolam dance, he keeps harm away from people and protects the Buddha, his teaching and his congregation.

Photo: Wolfgang Mey, Ambalangoda region, 1988.

Performance of Thembili Paliya

Performance of Thembili Paliya

More about Performance of Thembili Paliya

Thembili Paliya is one of the Pali characters. These appear in the Sanni Yakuma, a healing and demon banishing ritual, as precursors and companions of the Sanni demons. In this scene, Thembili Paliya cleanses the ritual site with the pure water of the king coconut, which he holds in his right hand.

Photo: Wolfgang Mey, Ambalangoda region, 1987.

Costume of Gurula Raksha

Costume of Gurula Raksha

More about Costume of Gurula Raksha

Gurula, the "Eagle" is one of the 24 Raksha ("protective Demons"). Through his appearance in the Kolam dance, he keeps mischief away from people and protects the Buddha, his teaching and his congregation. He wears a multi-piece costume consisting of a blouse, a three-tier skirt, black trousers, a pair of ankle ties, a white belly band and two red sashes.

Provenance: Acquired from Bandu Wijesooriya, Ambalangoda, 1997. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.

Singha, the "Lion", makes his appearance in the Kolam dance. In a scene especially designed for this role (Singha Kolama), he delights the court – and the audience – with his elaborate dances. A pair of lions always performs, sometimes also a lion cub, which is then danced by a child.

Provenance: Acquired from Mahinda Wijesooriya, Ambalangoda, 1985. Photo: Kathrin Leuenberger, 2023 / UZH Ethnographic Museum.