Sri Lanka Donates Traditional Raksha Masks to FAO Museum in Rome to Mark First Anniversary

Sri Lanka has donated three wooden Raksha masks to the FAO Museum in Rome, marking the museum’s first anniversary with a contribution highlighting the country’s craft traditions and agrarian heritage.

The embassy made the donation on 16 October in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the National Craft Council.

The collection comprises Naga Raksha, the Cobra Demon Mask; Mayura Raksha, the Peacock Demon Mask; and Ginidal Raksha, the Fire Demon Mask.

The masks were made by Ambalangoda craftsman R. M. L. Ravindra, whom the embassy identified as a second-generation practitioner of traditional mask making.

The embassy described the craft as a folk-art tradition connected to ritual, storytelling and community ceremonies, with skills passed between generations.

Its account linked the masks with agrarian practices in which they were believed to protect crops from disease, drought and pests.

The cobra mask represents protection, fertility, wisdom and guardianship, according to the embassy’s explanation. It associated the imagery with water resources, rainfall and agricultural fertility.

The peacock mask symbolises beauty, prosperity and good fortune, reflecting connections between wildlife, cultivated landscapes and agricultural biodiversity.

Flame-like carvings distinguish the fire mask. The embassy connected its symbolism with purification, protection, renewal and the traditional clearing of fields before cultivation.

A video message accompanying the donation addressed cultural heritage preservation and the significance of the contribution.

It featured Sri Lankan ambassador and permanent representative to FAO Satya Rodrigo, FAO outreach and promotions head Clara Velez Fraga, and ICCROM director-general Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral.

The embassy said the contribution was intended to introduce international visitors to relationships between nature, ritual and farming in Sri Lankan life.

The donation adds objects made through a living Sri Lankan craft tradition to the museum at FAO headquarters, presenting their cultural associations alongside the organisation’s focus on food and agriculture.