Kandy Esala Perahera - finale on Tuesday:

Extraordinary cultural and historic spectacle

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

With the dawn of peace, the historic city of Kandy has again lit up to the sounds of the whip crackers heralding the commencement of the Kandy Perahera which is one of the most spectacular pageants of the world.

The relaxed atmosphere with the fresh air of peace have added colour to the much-sought-after cultural pageant of the country. Apart from the spectacular pageant, the Kandy Perahera has its own culture with the convergence of locals and foreigners from diverse parts of the world into the city of Kandy. The events associated with the pageant are centred on the Temple of the Tooth.

One of the fascinating features associated with the Perahera is the decoration of households. Buddhist flags are hung in individual households and commercial establishments such as hotels. Leading hotels and restaurants in Kandy make special arrangements such as pavilions for the guests to watch the pageant.

The pageant unfolds before the spectators from diverse parts of the globe, showcasing not only the rich socio-cultural legacy of Sri Lanka with its unique Kandyan dance, but also the unrivalled glory of the historic 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 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 withstanding the onslaught of invaders until the British conquered the city in 1815. The colourful pageant will conclude on Tuesday with the water-cutting ceremony conducted strictly in accordance with rituals associated with the pageant.

History of the pageant

The Perahera commenced in its present form during 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. The king ordered that the 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 to 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 310 AD. According to 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" 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) bear testimony to the importance of the Tooth Relic in the Sinhala culture.

The Perahera

The Esala Perahera of Kandy commences with the Kap Situveema. In a ceremony, a young jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in each of the four Devales (temples for gods) dedicated to the four guardian gods; Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and the goddess 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 streets of Kandy for five nights ending the festival with the Diya Kepeema (water cutting ceremony), at Getambe 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 July) and concludes on Nikini Full Moon day (in August). The principal processions that constitute the Esala festival or a cultural fiesta in Kandy are the Dalada Maligawa Perahera, the Natha Devale Perahera, the Maha Vishnu Devale Perahera, the Kataragama Devale Perahera, and the Pattini Devale 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 the Dalada Perehera and the completion of the Perahera are announced with the firing of cannon balls.

Randoli Perahera

Randoli Perahera, perhaps, the most spectacular perahera of the festival, commences following the five nights of Kumbal Perehara. Randoli literally means the golden palanquin (dolawa) on which the queen of the serving king travelled. The spectacular pageant commences with the majestic tusker adorned with the most exquisite garments, parading the street of the historic city followed by more than a 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 conch shells, whip cracking and lighting of crackers serve as harbingers of the Perahera. Over the years, many a colourful piece such as dances with drums, acrobatics, and traditional Kandyan drummers, artistes who perform against the light of flame torches and visiting foreign artistes have enriched the Kandy Perahera which is one of the most sought after cultural events in Sri Lanka.

The Esala Perahera is considered as a blend of two distinct Peraheras-the Esala and Dalada Peraheras; the Esala Perahera is believed to have commenced in the third century BC as a ritual imploring the gods for rainfall while the Dalada Perahera is believed to have originated during the fourth Century AD when the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka from India. Following the five nights of the Randoli Perahera, the Kandy Perahera concludes with the Diya Kepeema or water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, a township in the periphery of the city of Kandy.

A Day Perehera is held to mark the ceremony.

Anthropological aspects

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 artistes whose forefathers performed the same roles in the Perahera which they held in high esteem. In a way, the perahera displays the Sinhalese hierarchy of caste under the feudal setup where the political power filtered down from the kings to the masses. From the anthropological perspective, the Perahera depicts socio-cultural forces at work and one may observe aspects of commercialisation in the Perahera.

The Kandy Perahera will remain as a potent symbol of the unique Sri Lankan cultural anthropological legacy with its opulence reminding all of a bygone era .