For the maestro in this Sri Lankan centre of devil masks and puppets, the tsunami signalled a warning from the gods -- and he is taking it very, very seriously.
Master sculptor and musician, Bandu Wijesooriya, 70, is assembling a team of devil dancers, occult scientists, poets and musicians to exorcise evil spirits and appease the deities in the hope tourists will return, and not the tsunamis.
"We had taken the sea for granted, abused it, ill-treated it -- and this is what we get," Wijesooriya said, referring to the December 26 sea surge that killed nearly 31,000 people and left a million homeless.
Wijesooriya's clan of carvers in this coastal town were not seriously hit by the tsunamis but the craftsmen are suffering the economic aftershocks due to a lack of buyers -- notably tourists.
The chariots carrying charmers and sorcerers will set off from here on April 22 on a tour of the country seeking good luck for the nation plagued by ethnic violence and now an unprecedented natural calamity.
Apart from reviving the rituals, Wijesooriya is hoping the procession will also throw a lifeline to the craftsmen who are going out of business.
At his Mask Museum here, the lights are switched off on a Sunday afternoon. There are no visitors browsing the puppets, masks and other curios. Before the tsunamis, the showroom was crowded with shoppers daily.
"There are no tourists because all the hotels have been washed out," Wijesooriya said. "We must take the message from the gods. Revive our rituals or face another catastrophe.
"I can scientifically show that wherever people mined corals or discharged pollutants to the sea, the damage was extensive. This is how the sea took its revenge."
With the hotels washed out, the tourists vanished too.
Craftsman L.A.R. Nandana, 39, is leisurely working on a mask at his home that doubles as a studio and showroom. There is no rush. No orders to fill. The bare-chested man is just killing time waiting for the return of the tourists.
Nandana said he used to earn about 10,000 to 15,000 rupees (100 to 150 dollars) a month before the tsunami, but last month his takings were barely 4,000 rupees.
"We don't get any state aid because our house was not flooded, but we are also victims... we can't sell our products. There are no tourists coming here. How can we earn a living? We are also badly in need of help."
If things get worse, he may switch to painting houses as he did in the early 1980s.
Ambalangoda, 85 kilometres (53 miles) south of Colombo, is known as Sri Lanka's centre for mask carvers and puppeteers, but the craftsmen are a vanishing breed here.
Nandana said there are only a handful of families still involved in the trade and youngsters and not encouraged to follow their elders and his own two children aged eight and two are unlikely to become mask-men.
Masks are a part of Sri Lankan culture with the island originally said to have been inhabited by "yakshas" or devils.
Nandana says many do not understand the significance of the traditional devil faces. There are a dozen faces of "gara yakkun", or demons, but half of them ward off evil while the balance bring bad luck or could be used to transfer evil to neighbours or onlookers.
Choosing the right devil mask can be a risky business as what appears attractive may actually bring bad luck.
According to Sri Lankan mythology devil masks are worn by dancers to scare off evil spirits. Different devil masks are used depending on the type of spirits to be exorcised.
Masks can also be placed on a wall to ward off evil influences and sorcerers choose the type of mask needed, depending on the requirement of the individual.
Disease-causing demons and those who bring about natural disasters are also separately identified and exorcised through an elaborate overnight ritual of dancing by mask wearers.
Sri Lankans usually set up a devil mask in front of new houses to ward off the evil eye and Wijesooriya is hoping that the post-tsunami constructions will provide custom to the mask makers.
"This is going to be a must. I will insist that all new homes must have a mask in front," he said. "It will be good for them and may even prevent another tsunami."