Iruni Kalupahana JadeTimes Staff
I. Kalupahana is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Culture
The Origins and Significance
One of the most famous festivals in Sri Lanka, the Kandy Esala Perahera relates to Buddhist traditions celebrated annually every July or August. This form of grand procession started during the reign of Indian Emperor Asoka, who popularized this kind of religious pageantry. This festival evolved over centuries in Sri Lanka, and its modern form was developed during the reign of Malabari king Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-1780). The Esala Perahera celebrates the Buddha's first sermon following his enlightenment, it symbolizes the transmission of his teachings. It characterizes a bewitching display of cultural and religious devotion where elaborated processions with ceremonial music and traditional dances, and a grand parade of attired elephants, take place concerning the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha in Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy.
Rituals and Customs
A series of highly elaborate rituals and customs mark the Esala Perahera, with most of their references in the ancient texts like "Dantha Dhathu Charitha" and "Dalada Siritha" put into writing during the regime of King Parakramabahu IV between 1302 and 1326. These texts name 38 statutes to the procession and describe in fine detail the cleaning and decoration of the Shrine Room of the Sacred Tooth Relic. To mark the commencement of the festival, the 'kapa' a sacred log allotted to each deity is installed at the respective devales. This is followed by a series of events, Kumbal Perahera, where smaller processions and offerings are made, followed by Randoli Perahera, where larger processions with palanquins carrying the ornaments of the deities are carried out. The event is concluded with the 'diya kepeema', or water cutting event, where the sacred relic is brought forth in procession to the Mahaweli River for its waters to be blessed, hence the assumption of prosperity in the ensuing year.
A Fusion of Culture, History, and Religion
The Kandy Esala Perahera includes a whole gamut of culture, history, and religion combined. The great procession, characteristic traditional Kandyan dances showcasing skilled dancers in elaborate costumes and other folk dances like the whip dance and fire dance, add color and vitality to this particular festival. It consists of a range of artists like drummers, singers, and acrobats, along with many elephants, each draped with multi colored trimmings. Traditionally, the origin of Perahera has a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu influences, as there is involvement of devales from guardian deities such as Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama, and Pattini. This shows the amalgamation of religious cultural attributes dominant in Sri Lanka and presents the Perahera festival, not as a religious event alone, but as a grand celebration of the multifarious cultures of the island.
Modern Celebrations and Cultural Significance
Today, the Kandy Esala Perahera is an internationally popular pageant watched by thousands of people every year. The present Perahera retains the ritualistic value of the past, while evolving to embrace the imperatives of a modern one, if not a very vital one, an effective version of a Sri Lankan cultural presentation. This festival represents one of the biggest events of cultural importance to be held in Sri Lanka and displays the grand traditions of the original arts and religious customs that were observed for so many centuries. It is truly unique because it can bring together people from all walks of life while carrying continued relevance as an expression of the island's cultural wealth.
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