This premium Gurulu Raksha trades the cobra and folded wings of the classic bird mask for a crown of flames. A short, pointed beak sits beneath two wide eyes, and around them long feathers flare up and out like fire, each one striped along its length and edged in a contrasting colour.
Three designs. One is painted in red, yellow and black with a red face; one in black, white and yellow with a black beak; and one in red and black, with a red face spotted in gold and a black beak. All three have large black eyes ringed in white and flanked by painted rosettes. Choose a design, then a height.
Construction. The face is carved as a hollow shell, with the feather panels cut separately and fixed at the sides, and the back is left as bare wood.
The Gurulu. The Gurulu is the mythical bird of Sri Lankan folk tradition, the enemy of the cobra and a cousin of the Garuda of Hindu and Buddhist story. Its mask is one of the Raksha forms made on the island's southern coast; see Raksha masks for the wider tradition.
Sizes. 15 cm (6 in), 20 cm (8 in), 25 cm (10 in) and 30 cm (12 in) tall. Each is painted by hand, so line and colour vary a little from the photographs. The larger, cobra-bearing Gurulu Raksha Mask is made up to 60 cm.
