Caught between extremes

The culture and economics of traditional mask art in contemporary Sri Lanka

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5827226
AutoresWasana Sampath Handapangoda (University of Sri Jayewardenepura, autor correspondente), J I Madukala (University of Sri Jayewardenepura), M P K Withanawasam (0000-0002-3829-3748, University of Sri Jayewardenepura), A A D T Saparamadu (University of Sri Jayewardenepura)
Ano2016
Volume33
Fascículo2
Páginas181-207
Data de publicação2016-02-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0887-3631 • E-ISSN: 1940-6320
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08873631.2015.1133174
OpenAlexW2343461347
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas31

In contemporary Sri Lanka, the commodification of local mask production resulting from cultural tourism has caught the traditional mask artisan in a tight spot between "tradition" and "modernity". The impacts of tourism are diversely received and interpreted within the local mask artisan community, with tourism simultaneously resulting in what can be called a "cultural discovery" and "cultural decline". Within this cultural debate, this paper is an attempt to understand how the traditional mask artisan arrives at a balance between "tradition" and "modernity", and culture and commerce. Qualitative research conducted in southern Sri Lanka shows that tradition and modernity are shifting conceptions. Negotiating a balance between tradition and modernity is, therefore, largely a matter of meaning and interpretation. When cultural commodification occurs, tradition and modernity are continuously redefined and reinvented by both the traditional mask artisan and cultural consumer to fit their own needs and agendas. Cultural commodification contributes to the survival and revival of Sri Lanka's mask tradition, a strategy that is simultaneously welcomed and contested within the local mask artisan community

Commodification · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Cinema and Media Studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture