About this experience
Ambalangoda, on Sri Lanka's south-western coast, is the island's foremost centre for traditional mask-making, with families carving and painting masks here for generations as part of the Low Country performance tradition. This four-hour guided session puts you at the workbench with brush in hand, painting a blank Kaduru-wood mask already carved into shape by local artisans.
Your host talks you through the mask's design as you work — whether it's a fierce Raksha demon form with bulging eyes and fangs, a serpent-crowned Naga Raksha, or a figure from the comic Kolam theatre tradition — and the symbolism behind the colours you apply. All paint and tools are included, along with a bottle of water; the session suits anyone aged five and up. You keep the mask you paint, along with a close-up understanding of a craft usually seen only as a finished souvenir. Entrance tickets, food, drinks and gratuities are not included.
