Mahasona and bear-like spirit narratives

Record summary

Mahasona is a major Sinhala yaka associated in many accounts with cemeteries, illness, night danger and a bear-like or animal-headed appearance. Ritual healing performances and folklore studies from the period provide material for comparing fixed monstrous embodiment with actual shape-changing. Some narratives describe disguise or changing manifestation, while others present a stable iconographic form. Researchers should identify a specific ritual, publication or performance record and preserve the distinction between Buddhist-Sinhala demonology, theatrical representation and medical explanation.