Devils Dance – Daha Ata Sanniya
If you're new here, you may want to sign up for email alerts or to subscribe to my RSS feed. Enjoy Life in the Fast Lane!
A Gurunnanse — master of ceremonies — holds out a pouch of flammable powder for dancers to light their torches. Fire dancers bend backwards as they lower flaming torches into their mouths, brightly costumed performers in fearsome, elaborate masks and a Yakka devil, all dancing and moving to the music and rhythmic beating of Yak Bera drums — these are the sights and sounds of the Devil Dance, known as the ‘Daha Ata Sanniya,’ a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka’s pre-Buddhist past.
Sri Lankan dancer performs Daha Ata Sanniya traditional dance ritual in Negombo,
about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 2008.
Photo AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
The Daha Ata Sanniya is a traditional dance ritual that combines mythical ideas held for the exorcism of 18 types of diseases from the human body, employing deft psychological manipulation, as exorcists wear masks depicting the demons thought to be responsible for a person’s ailments.
Occasionally the full accompaniment of 18 possible disease demons is represented in the ceremony, but a smaller number are usually used according to which demons are thought to be afflicting the person. The exorcism ends with the appearance of an exorcist wearing the mask of the chief demon called Maha Kola which typically incorporates miniature representations of the other 18 demons within it.
Sri Lankan dancer performs Daha Ata Sanniya traditional dance ritual in Negombo,
about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 2008.
Photo AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo Sangam
The Daha Ata Sanniya Dance
In Sri Lanka, one of the most dramatic forms of dance occurs in exorcist healing rituals — called tovil, thovil, toile, yakuma, yakun-natima and yakun-natanava — is part of the folk tradition of Sinhala-speaking Buddhists, and though not officially a part of Buddhism, it’s been significantly influenced by it.
Most Sri Lankans don’t get the chance to witness this extremely colorful and vibrant ceremony due to the performance’s exorbitant costs and the long duration, which traditionally lasts up to 12 hours.
This exceptionally unique ritual of Daha Ata Sanniya features a complex and sophisticated mixture of theatre and drama with special costumes and masks as the dancers conjure magical images of esoteric figures that personify the demons to the rhythmic beat of drums, as they take centre stage with a dazzling vibrancy.
Said to be a 2,000 year old ritual, the techniques of tovil singing and dancing are handed down from teacher to pupil and from father to son — women do not perform.
The tovil is performed by exorcists, combating diseases believed to be caused by demons and ghosts. An arena is set symbolizing the forest — a favorite haunting place for demons — prepared on level ground near the patient’s house with a canopy, shrines, and trays for spirit offerings decorated with leaves, strips of banana stem, and coconut fronds. A pallet for the patient is set at one end of the arena.
Relatives and friends gather around to offer sympathies to the afflicted and to enjoy the performance, which runs from dusk to dawn.
The senior exorcist is commonly accompanied by several younger men who do most of the singing and dancing, and 1 or 2 drummers. The dancers wear bright colored costumes and facial makeup, bearing tufts of young coconut leaves or burning torches soaked in coconut oil, as smoke and the smell of incense fill the air. The tovil drum, a reed flute, bells, and jingles tied to the arms and ankles complete the dancer’s equipment.
The dancing begins slowly and progressively grows livelier, while the singing, chanting of spells and charms, and presentations to gods and demons are interlaced with spirited dancing and loud drumming.
The atmosphere is an informal socially integrative and entertaining public gathering of friends and relatives coming and going — visiting and sleeping, eating and playing cards.
The afflicted may become possessed by a demon and dance to the rhythm of the drums as they shout, scream, march, beat their breasts, and burn their offering. The patient must be settled, the gods appeased, and the demons conjured, all before sunrise, if a cure is to be achieved.
Excitement and tension mounts until the ceremony progresses to a dramatic conclusion in a series of comic masked dances designed to depict and to placate a particularly nasty set of disease-causing demons. As monstrous as the demons may appear, they can be combated and subjugated if the proper procedures are followed.
The political tovil has had a life of its own in the Sri Lankan parliament complex since 1956. Though in the traditional tovil only men take part as performers, in the political tovil practiced in the parliament, there has been no bar on families or sexes. Any type of swinging among the nuclear members had been permitted in Tamil-baiting, and sticking to a flex time format is the chief rule of the game, depending on whether one is in the government benches or in the opposition.
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Origin of the Daha Ata Sanniya
As legend goes, while King Sankapala was at war, his wife who was pregnant had a sudden craving for a certain variety of mango. As she ate it, her maid of honor also wanted a piece of the fruit, but the Queen had refused her.
Angered by this denial, the maid cursed her and declared to the King upon his return from war that his Queen had conceived out of wedlock. Her story was believed and the Queen was sliced in 2 with a sword.
The baby was born and ate off his mother and thus, a devil was born. Lead by this devil, 18 more devils were created which in turn came to towns and cities and began to spread in the form of diseases. It was to counter this type of sickness that the Daha Ata Sanniya originated.
The origin of this Shanthi Karmaya blessing took place in the times of ancient kings, performed in the southern and western parts of Sri Lanka, reaching far back into the country’s pre-Buddhist past. Some identifiable influences also come from South India, Malasia and Europe – the Portuguese established colonies on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) — in 1505.
The island of Sri Lanka professes to have been a favorite haunt of aliens, extra terrestrials, gods, angels, sky dwellers, demons, and deities. Their chronicles, traditions, folklore, prehistoric cave drawings, archaeological evidence and ancient traveler’s’ records claim that there have been strange beings living on this island from time immemorial. There were and are allegations to mountains, hills, buildings and even plants filled with mysteries, power and wisdom which are beyond human understanding.
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
The 18 Sanni Masks
Little has been written about the sanni classification of disease and its representation in the various sanni masks, however, it is rooted in the prehistoric past of many ancient civilizations.
These ritual masks represent a sophisticated folk art form both beautiful and mysterious, representing different demons that are believed to have caused diseases. Carved of wood and pigmented with natural hues and resins, they’re infused with a spirit and animation. The patina of a ritual mask, darkened by years of use, and repairs upon repairs tell the tale their importance in ancient village communities.
There has been considerable variation in identities of the sanni demons, their associated diseases, and masks. Most agree to 18 demons in total, but searches have revealed more than 30 possible names. However, the 18 most commonly described forms in authoritative texts are fairly consistent.
The mask known as Dahaata Sanniya or ‘eighteen disease’ is studded with 18 diseased faces atop a pair of their gods and 2 spirits — the spreader of pain through disease and other, the savior, are placed vertically apart.
The other 18 masks are as follows:
1. Kana Sanniya — demon causing blindness. The mask for blindness usually has its eyes missing.
2. Kora Sanniya — demon causing lameness or paralysis. The mask always has a unilateral facial deformity that could represent a neurological lesion such as stroke.
3. Gini Jala Sanniya — demon causing excess heat, burning sensation, headache and fatigue.
4. Naga Sanniya — demon causing swelling of the face, body sores and peeling of skin. The demon for boils and skin diseases has skin lesions that look like carbuncles on the face.
5. Demala Sanniya — demon performing pranks and uttering nonsense that sounds like Tamil, also related with madness with distortion of the body.
6. Kapala Sanniya — demon causing insanity, madness and delirium. The complexity of psychiatric illnesses is reflected in the variety of masks that represent insanity, which may or may not be and related to spirits.
7. Golu Sanniya — demon causing dumbness / muteness. The mask often has a wide open mouth with no teeth or tongue.
8. Bihiri Sanniya — demon causing ear diseases and deafness. The mask usually includes a cobra (traditionally considered to be a deaf animal) that may extend from the nose to cover one side of the face.
9. Maru Sanniya — demon causing delirium and death, wallowing and contortions in the eyes.
10. Amukku Sanniya — demon causing trembling of limbs.
11. Jala or Pata Sanniya — demon causing diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, dysentery and parasitic worms. The mask usually has a green complexion and a protruding tongue, whereas those representing parasitic worms usually have pale complexions that could reflect hookworm.
12. Gulma Sanniya — demon causing lack of appetite, swelling of the abdomen.
13. Vata Sanniya — demon causing rheumatism and burning of limbs.
14. Slesma Sanniya — demon causing secretions, phlegmatic diseases and epilepsy.
15. Vata sanniya — demon causing rheumatism and burning of limbs.
16. Kola Sanniya — demon causing pneumonia.
17. Deva Sanniya — demon causing epidemics and infectious diseases. The name of the demon means “divine,” presumably because disease on such a large scale was thought to have a divine origin. The mask is distinguished by having a head dress, but otherwise its appearance varies considerably.
18. Vuta Sanniya — demon causing derangement, distortion and listlessness of limbs.
Masks for malaria, high fevers, cholera and chills are similar and have fiery red complexions. The mask for high fevers can usually be distinguished by flames across the forehead, which could be suggestive of the temperature of a feverish patient. The mask for diseases affecting the digestive and intestinal tract usually has a yellow or orange complexion indicative of jaundice.
The sanni demons certainly appear to represent disease syndromes, and their masks show clinical features familiar to today’s medical professionals. These classifications of disease have sizeable merit, particularly considering their origin among non-medical practitioners from centuries ago. Sri Lanka has an early history of medical achievements, including the first recorded hospitals and a system of Ayurvedic medicine that dates back to the 4th century B.C.
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo AFP / Sanka Vidanagama / Getty Images
Photo Discover Sri Lanka
A Dying Art
Many fear that Tovil and the Daha Ata Sanniya ritual to be a dying art, gradually being replaced by Buddhist pietism, Western medicine, and faith-healing cults. However, the dance may be ironically undergoing a modest revival as an urban art form of tourist entertainment.
While it may appear to be a slowly dying art in Sri Lankan culture, the magical and therapeutic effects of mask and attendant rituals of Sri Lanka are still not forgotten in the remote parts of the country where the drums can still be heard occasionally, and the dying custom may be given a new lease of life as it is regaining in popularity.
Gara Raksha Photo Kapruka
Gara Raksha Photo Kapruka
If you’re looking to possess any number of masks to perform your own demon-ridding dances, check out the Kapruka website.
Daha-ata Sanniya – Organized by RB Sri Lanka
Low Country Folk Dance Sri Lanka
Sources: Webticketing, Sunday Times, BMJ Journals
Ames, Michael: Tovil — exorcism by White Magic. Natural History, January 1978; vol.87, no.1, pp.42-49.
Kapferer, Bruce: A Celebration of Demons — Exorcism and the Aesthetics of Healing in Sri Lanka (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1983).
Related stories:
Wacky Swiss Fasnacht Lantern Carnival
Down and Dirty Block of Mud Carnival
Mardi Gras Indian Tribes Suit Up
Mad Masked Mania Bulgarian Style
La Tomatina – Tomato Fight Festival in Bunol
Testicle Eating Festival
superb article!
With all the interest in dance competitions now on tv, it’s too bad they don’t showcase more of the ethic, ancient dance forms. Ballroom, hip hop and salsa aren’t the only dance forms out there.
You’re so right, Jaki. I really enjoy seeing ethnic forms of dance. It’s a pity it doesn’t get very much exposure.
excellent article but it left out the fact that the ill person sometimes dies before dawn…
Thank you thank you! This is very interesting article thank you again!
Excellent article!