Lost horses of Kelaniya
Tissa Devendra
My occasional forays into the field of folk art, as in the case of
the mosaic rooster of Elvitigala Mawata, led me to this lovely picture
of a folk handicraft now sadly lost. These are the brightly painted
pottery horses and bulls of Kelaniya whose delightful primitivism harks
back to the votive statuettes found in prehistoric tombs.
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Painted pottery horses and bulls of Kelaniya |
As children, many years ago, we snapped them up at the open fair on
the Kelaniya Vihara grounds on Duruthu Poya. My memory seems to recall
other painted pottery figures of elephants as well. All displayed by
their makers squatting on their haunches surrounded by their handiwork.
Parents, hopeful of inculcating thrift in their kids, bought us pottery
ketas (tills for coins) incised with simple traditional geometric
designs.
Also purchased was an item of utilitarian purpose - the elegant
slim-necked round-bottomed guruletthuva (goblet) for keeping drinking
water deliciously cool in those pre-fridge days.
I wonder what happened to these delightful horses and bulls as well
as to the pottery craftsmen who fashioned them - probably for centuries
- for the innocent joy of children. My only hope is that they did not
descend to turning out the ghastly lacquer shaded shepherd dogs that
infest the wayside stalls near Weligama. |
