Dehiwala Puppet Museum
There’s this puppetry museum in Dehiwela run by Wimal Weerawansa’s cousin and SB Dissanayake’s former media secretary. It’s one of those places where you feel like you’re the first person discovering something really cool. Which is to say, it was completely empty. Inside it is full of awesome. The architecture is simple, airy and light and the puppets are well-painted, their stories told with love. Sunny is the puppeteer and he shows you around in lovely, musical Sinhala (which I needed translated), telling the stories of a man who lost his wife, kings who lost their heads, and princes who lost their thrones. At the back there is also a collection of magnificent, giant devil masks. He put on a small show for us, but I hear that there’s a full one on November 17th at 9:30 am. I recommend.
Perhaps you’ve been to the Dehiwela Zoo. The Puppetry Museum is 100 meters away. They have an extraordinary (for Sri Lanka) website, a great building and the place looks better cared for than, say, the Natural History Museum. It remains, however, that the place is one of those where they act confused when you want to go in. Perhaps it’s just not busy on Sundays. There is a section on puppetry in the National Museum dedicated to puppetry, but it sucks. It’s all third-rate handbills and puppets from other countries, none of the amazing stuff we have here. The only cool thing there is the full whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.
The Puppetry Museum doesn’t have whales, but it does have various puppets hanging from the raftings, looking down and grinning their rictured grins. Sunny opens the doors and show you around, telling stories and singing songs for each exhibit. My favorite is the one about Gotabhaya.
King Sirisabago. I think Gotabhaya is the snake
In the Mahavamsa, there was a Gotabhaya who was also brother to King Sirisagabo. However, through intrigue, he got the throne for himself and the king retired to the woods as a meditating hermit. Still not satisfied, Gotabhaya offered a bounty for anyone who would bring him the true King’s head. People started bringing him random heads, then Gotabhaya started lopping off their heads, leading to a rash of headlessness in the kingdom. In fear, one peasant fled to the woods, where he found Sirisagabo. When Sirisagabo heard what was going on he said, ‘oh, dear’ and – to prevent further bloodshed – plucked off his own head by simply pulling on the top. He told the terrified peasant to take it to the king, under his protection.
Gotabhaya was like ‘what’s this, another headmonger, off with his head,’ but then the dismembered head of King Sirisagabo spoke up and said, ‘hey guy, haven’t you done enough killing already? Why don’t you chill out already.’ Gotabhaya felt bad and the wife he’d stolen from his brother felt so bad she died. The end.
Achchi, your, uh
Other stories are more traditional, some ancient, some gamay. In one an ugly man gets married to a pretty girl who abandons him the first chance she gets. A wise king sorts it out, but the moral was not to marry above your station. All the stories are interesting an, oh, the masks.
They’re cool.
The Dehiwala Puppet Museum on the Zoo Road, about 100m before if you’re coming from Colombo side. Basically near the Big Bite Biriyani on the Google Map, though I’ve never seen a BBB there. The site says its open from 9-5. The guys said there was a proper show on November 17th at 9:30 am.
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Weird. I was there just last Sunday.
Sunny (I didn’t catch his name, but it has to be the same guy) was awesome. He guided me through the Kaalagola story (the one with the unfaithful wife), and I thought it was fascinating. I’ve heard the story countless times before, but it sounded much better the way Sunny recited it.
Not the best of lessons, though, in the end.
Never heard of this place until now! Looks lovely.
Like your rendition of the Sirisangabo story too.
Theres a popular ‘nadagama’, or stylised musical drama of sorts, on the Kalagola story with some lovely nadagam songs which regularly goes on the boards.
I suspect the ‘archchi’ is also another nadagam character, Lenchina, from the short play ‘Jasaya saha Lenchina’, about a cranky old couple.
Er, not Lenchina, but some other play. My memory fails me.
I think the Aachchi in the picture is from the Kaalagola set.
Also, was there an alternative to bras back in the day?
*wasn’t
Ordinary local women were usually topless at home. Older women would be draped in a shawl when going out. The women of court seem to have worn the equivalent of a boob tube with a transparent shawl over it.
As a Muslim guy from my old office was fond of pointing out, Sinhala women would still be exposed to the elements unless they turned up here.
“? ?????? ???? ??????, I don’t know why!” ?
Eh? No Sinhala Unicode here? Aiyo!
I was quoting Sunil Perera. “Ei kaalene inna thibbe; I don’t know why!”
Yeah, and you would be attired in a kinky little ‘amudaya’ at work, kneedeep in mud and surrounded by water buffaloes, unless of course you were brave enough to face an uncertain fate working at court.
Still, couldn’t complain. When you have so much time on your hands (off season), with not much to do, it would be kinda nice to have some eye-candy around, no?
That would depend on whether the exhibit was young and firm and healthy or, God forbid, the exact opposite.
This looks really cool. how can I get there?
Do you know the 176 route? There is a huge Buddha statue under a Bo tree at this Y-shaped 3-way junction down the 176 route. It’s closer to Kalubowila than it is to Dehiwala. One of the three roads will take you to Galle Road, past the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. That’s about 20 metres from the junction. If you’re coming from the direction of the zoo, the museum can be found if you go straight past the junc, without turning to your left (i. e. towards Galle Road). It’s a couple of places past the junction, right next to a temple.
I’m terrible at giving directions, I know.
*paces
So it’s on hill street before the Buddha statue. Am I correct?
No, no. This is kinda of towards the end of the Dehiwala-Kalubowila road (176 route).
Very interesting. :)
That’s very interesting, thanks for the write-up. Should check it out. (It’s SirisaNgabo btw. )
SO COOL! thanks man. gonna check this place out!
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