Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.15

c11.15

Two other sorts of *kindurō* are recognized by Kandyan painters: these are *sanda-kindura*, altogether human in form, with wings like an angel, and the *jala-kindura* or mermaid; of these the *sanda-kindura* is rarely seen in Kandyan work, but has, I suspect, more than a half share in the ‘angels’ that are oftener seen in low-country paintings, where the influence of the Christian angel has perhaps also to be reckoned with; but the Christian angel is after all really a gandharva or apsara.§ The *jala-kindura* I have never seen used; but a drawing made for me represents a typical ‘mermaid.’ A *kindura* and *sanda kindura* are among the 108 *magul-lakuṇu* (*maṅgalya lakshaṇa*, auspicious marks on the feet of Buddha).