Kandy Esala Perahera concludes:

Spectacular cultural pageant

By Indeewara THILAKARATHNE

With the dawn of peace, the historic city of Kandy was once again lit up to the sounds of the whip crackers heralding the commencement of the Kandy Perahera (procession) which is one of the spectacular pageants of the world. The pageant unfolds before the spectators from diverse parts of the globe not only the rich socio-cultural legacy of Sri Lanka with its unique Kandyan dance but also the unrivalled glory of the Sri Lankan royalty as the majestic tusker adorned with colourful costumes carries the golden casket bearing the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha.

It is the history of royalty in its pristine glory with the confluence of the time that is unfolding before our eyes in the form of a pageant. The impregnable city of Kandy remained as the last seat of royalty in Sri Lanka with the Tooth Relic in the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth) withstanding the onslaught of invaders until the British conquered the city in 1815. Significantly this year’s Perahera marked the dawn of peace ending the three decades of terrorism.

The modern Perahera commenced in the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1781). At the time the Sacred Tooth Relic was considered as a property of the king and also served as a symbol of power. Though the Tooth Relic was considered the property of the king, the king ordered that Tooth Relic be taken in procession for the masses to venerate it. When the British conquered Kandy with the capture of the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe in 1815, the custody of the Tooth Relic was handed over to the Maha Sangha (the Buddhist clergy). In the absence of the king, a lay custodian, Diyawadana Nilame, was appointed to attend the administrative matters in the Temple of the Tooth.

The Perahera was performed annually ever since the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the year 310 AD. According to the history, the first Perahera was held in the city of Anuradhapura, then the capital where the Sacred Relic was in the custody of the king. However, with the foreign invasions and subsequent shifting of seats of governance from Anuradhapura to Kandy. The Tooth Relic was also taken with the king until it found its permanent abode in the ‘Dalada Maligawa’ (Palace of the Tooth Relic) constructed in the 16th century by king Wimaladharmasuriya. Since the Tooth Relic was a symbol of power, it was always in the custody of the king and much revered. Sinhalese classics such as Dalada Siritha, (Chronicles of the Tooth Relic) bears testimony to the importance of the Tooth Relic in the Sinhala culture.

The Perahera

The Esala Perehera of Kandy commences with the Kap Situveema. In a ceremony young jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in each of the four Devales (temples for the god) dedicated to the four guardian gods; Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and the goddess of Pattini. The four Devales were built around the Temple of the Tooth.

The ceremony was conducted to invoke blessings on the king and the people.

Although the most famous among the Peraheras was the Randoli Perahera which paraded the street of Kandy for five nights ending the festival with Diya Kepima (water cutting ceremony), it is also important to look at the other processions which make up the cultural festival of kandy with age old customs still preserved and passed down from generation to generation. Before the Randoli Perahera, there were four Peraheras from the four Devales. The Kandy Perahera commences on Esala Full Moon day (in the month of July) and concludes on Nikini Full Moon day (in the month of August). The principal processions that constitute the Esala festival or a cultural fiesta in Kandy are the Dalada Maligawa Perahera, the Natha Dewala Perahera, the Maha Vishnu Dewala Perahera, the Kataragama Dewale Perahera, and the Pattini Dewale Perahera. Over the years this order has been maintained.

One of the fascinating features of the Esala festival of Kandy is the tradition of announcing important events of the festival with the firing of cannon balls. For instance, the important stages of the festival such as the commencement of the Devale Peraheras, the placing of the casket on the tusker’s back, the commencement of Dalada Perehera, the completion of the Perehera, are announced with the firing of cannon balls.

Randoli Perahera

Randoli Perahera, perhaps, the most spectacular Peraheras of the festival commences following the five nights of Kumbal Perehera. Randoli literally means the golden palanquins (Dolawa) on which the queen of the serving king travelled. The spectacular pageant commences with majestic tusker adorned with most exquisite garments, parading the street of the historic city followed by more than hundred elephants. Perhaps, the most colourful sight which recalls the ancient Kandyan kings and the nobility and the bygone era of royalty is the Diyawadana Nilame and the other officials in the attire of the traditional chieftains riding on the elephants.

Blowing of the conch shells, whip cracking and lighting of the crackers serve as harbingers of the Perahera. Over the years, many a colourful piece such as dances with drums, acrobatics, and traditional Kandyan drummers, artists who perform against the light of flame torches and visiting foreign artists have enriched the Kandy Perahera which is one of the most sought after cultural events in Sri Lanka.

The Esala Perahera is considered as the blend of two distinct Peraheras Esala and Dalada Peraheras; the Esala Perahera is believed to have commenced in the 3rd century BC as a ritual requesting the god for rainfall while the Dalada Perahera believed to have originated during the 4th century AD when the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka from India. Following the five nights of Randoli Perahera, the Kandy Perahera concludes with Diya Kepeema or water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, a township in the periphery of the city of Kandy and a Day Perehera is held to mark the ceremony.

Apart from its historical and cultural importance, the Kandy Perahera is an important anthropological event where ancient social order is displayed in its pristine grandeur in the form of a spectacular pageant. Most of the dancers who perform annually in the pageant are third generation of artists whose forefathers performed the same roles in the Perahera which they held in high esteem.

The Kandy Perahera will remain as a potent symbol of unique Sri Lankan cultural legacy with its opulence reminding an era gone by.