'Daha Ata Sanniya'

How it's performed:

In the last Heritage Splendour page, we explained to you what 'Daha Ata Sanniya' means and how it originated. What do you think about this colourful event? It is a part of Sri Lanka's rich heritage.

These rituals are not performed very often these days, because of the excessive time and finances which need to be invested to get these events going.Today, we'll tell you how this event is performed. The traditional steps followed in the event are given below...

A Daha ata sanni event starts around 8.00 p.m. The stand where the flowers and other necessities are kept is known as 'Pideni Thatu'. The person who conducts the ceremony, the lead devil dancer is known as the 'Yakadura'.

He lights the lamps and brings the patient to the place where the event is being conducted. They worship the Triple Gem and seek its blessings for the patient. The patient is brought to a mat and several things including a coconut are placed close to his/her feet.

After chanting various prayers, the Yakadura asks the patient to believe that from now on, he/she is completely cured. Next comes the offering of Dola Pideni (alms) to the devils.

The necessary environment for this ritual is created with the placing of all necessities in front of the patient. At this stage, from the drum beats and from the way the words of the chantings are uttered, the patient is made to believe that the demons are getting closer.

Then the devils are called onto the centre of the stage and through discussions with the drummer, are asked to identify themselves, state their purpose and say what they need to leave the place.

These parts are enacted by dancers dressed as devils complete with masks. The offerings are then placed at their command by the patient with the hope that all ailments will now be gone.

After the evening has passed into night, the Suniyan Yakshaniya or the she-devil comes. She comes thrice, first as a beautiful damsel, then as a pregnant woman and finally as a woman carrying a baby. She jokes with the drummer, blesses the patient and leaves the place.

After the offerings are placed for the devils, the 'padure depavila' is conducted. It's at this moment that Maruwa (death) or the 'soul of the eeriyaka' enters the stage. The 'yakadura' then lies on a mat, chants that his whole body is offered to the patient and pretends to be a dead man.

A while later, Maruwa enters the stage wearing a black blouse and red trousers. He shouts and tries to kill the Yakadura with a sword. Then he starts running around and behaving in a manner which will arouse fear in the spectators.

Next comes the depiction of Maruwa (eeriyaka) taking a human sacrifice (nara billa). Then comes the most dramatic event of the Daha ata sanniya - the yak pelapali (march of the devils). First Kalu Yaka, Vatha Kumara and Kalu Kumara enter the stage.

This could differ according to various traditions. It includes Anguru Dummala Paliya, Kalaspaliya and Salupaliya. All these processions end with blessings being showered on the patient.

The 18 sannis enter the stage next. Sometimes all 18 may not appear due to time constraints. The chief devil, Mahakola Sanniyaka should make his appearance before sunrise, so the number of other devils appearing may differ. The chief devil is the one to appear last.

These devils always wear masks and they also depict some aspect of their names e.g. Bihiri Sanniya comes as a deaf man. They all carry out conversations with the chief devil dancer and at the end, the patient is made to present the offerings to them.

When the chief devil enters, two guardians protect the patient with barriers. The barriers are removed and the chief devil is allowed to go to the patient and accept his/her offerings only after the devil says that he has come with a message from the Buddha.

This message is supposed to state that the devils cannot take human sacrifices; they can inflict diseases upon then, but should cure them after accepting their offerings.

With the chief devil blessing the patient and accepting his/her offerings, the sanni yakuma comes to a close.

Janani Amarasekara