Kandy Esala Perahera:

Rituals and traditions

The hills are alive with the reverberating sound of whip crackers ,Kandyan drums and flutes as the colourful procession of the Esala Perahera parades the streets. The historic Esala Perahera which takes place in the hill capital, Kandy annually is Sri Lanka's most spectacular pageant with religious and cultural significance.This world famous pageant though very much diiferent to the pageants of the ancient past ,continues to mesmerise locals and foreigners alike ,every year .

The perahera began on July 19 , with the usual installation of the 'kapa' (sanctified log) at the devales dedicated to the four guardian gods ;Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and goddess Pattini. It will be followed by the Devale Peraheras, the Kumbal Perahera and the Randoli Perahera , the most celebrated of the peraheras. If anyone of you has not witnessed live ,the spetacular pageant, especially the Randoli Perahera which is a combination of the four peraheras, it is imperative that you do so at least once in your life. The perahera is steeped in rituals and customs that enrich our cultural heritage .At least make an attempt to learn about them from the various narrations and articles that abound during the perahera season over the electronic and print media. Today we bring you some interesting facts about two important rituals.

Planting of kap

The installation of ,'kapa' (sanctified log) at the devales dedicated to the four guardian gods Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and goddess Pattini symbolises the begining of the perahera. What exactly is known as the kapa. It is a pole of jak wood about four feet in height which is planted in the premises of the four devales. However ,it is not just cut and brought there on that day. This is done according to ancient rituals. A few days before the new moon in August, the Basnayaka Nilames of the four devales, along with the kapuralas, go in search of a young jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), that has borne no fruit, and clear the ground around the tree. It is then fumigated with the smoke of burning resin and sprinkled with specially prepared sandalwood water.

Flowers, betel leaves and a lighted lamp are placed at the foot of the tree, and the deity, whose abode, perchance, it may be, is implored to leave the tree, before it is felled. Earlier an asala tree (Cassia fistula) was selected, instead of the lactiferous jak tree, to make the kapa poles.

Once the tree is felled, it is cut into four equal parts and distributed among the four devales, the Natha devale getting the first kapa.

The traditional procedure followed in felling the tree is mentioned in the Sinhala text Maimataya (Skt. Mayamata).

Each log is carried in procession and planted inside the devales. Earlier they were installed outside the devales, but now having reduced in size, they occupy an elevated ground inside each devale, specially built for the purpose. It is known as kap-situweema.

For five days from the date of installation of the kapa, the kapurala of each devale take around the log every evening (formerly twice a day), accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers and spearmen and the sacred insignia of the gods (ranayudha).

This takes the form of a little procession in each of the devales, and is known as Devale perahera. On the fifth day, the insignias are taken out of the devale premises and borne inside a dome like structure, known as the ranhilige, on the back of an elephant, accompanied by the Basnayaka Nilame and his retinue. The Devale peraheras come at the appointed hour and assemble in front of the Dalada Maligawa.

The water-cutting ceremony

The significant and widespread belief regarding the origin of the Esala perahera is woven into the fabric of mythology, especially in regard to the water-cutting ritual. During the reign of Vankanasika Tissa alias Kasubu (109-112), a band of Cholians from South India, invaded the island, and having slain the king, took away 12,000 Sinhala captives to South India. His son, king Gajabahu, along with his Herculian soldier Nila, crossed the Indian Ocean to India, by cleaving the waters of the sea with his massive iron rod.

After peaceful negotiations with the Cholian king Senguttuvan, king Gajabahu was able to bring back the captives, along with an equal number of Cholians, in recompense. Later, they settled down in the villages of Hewaheta, Tumpane, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Alutkuruwa and others . The water-cutting ritual at the Getambe ferry reminisces the exploit of Nila in cleaving the sea to go to India.

The Randoli Perahera begins after five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to palanquins on which the Queens of the ruling Kings traditionally travelled.Following the five nights of the Randoli Perahera the Kandy Perahera concludes with Diya Kepeema or water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe township in the periphery of the city of Kandy and a Day Perehara is held to mark the ceremony. Randoli perahera is an expanded version of the Kumbal perahera, to which are added palanquins (randoli) of the four devales. These contain the ornaments of the goddesses, sword and pitcher of each devale. On the fifth day of the Randoli perahera, after a short break up, reassembles and makes its way to the Asgiri vihara, where the casket is placed, and the Devale peraheras return to their respective devales.

Later in the night the four Devale peraheras make their way to the water-cutting site at Gatambe ferry. At the river the kapuralas of the devales are led in a decorated boat to some distance, from where they cleave the waters with the sacred sword, and collect a pitcher full from the place where the sword touched the water, to be stored in the devales for one year, to be fed back into the river, at the next water-cutting ceremony.

Fact file

*The 'danta dhatu' (Tooth Relic of the Buddha) was brought to the island by prince Danta and princess Hemamala of Kalinga (Orissa), during the reign of Kirti Sri Meghavarna (352-377). The three Buddhist fraternities in Anuradhapura (Mahavihara, Abahayagiri vihara and Jetavana vihara), claimed to possess it as the most revered object of worship. The king, wishing not to displease the bhikkus of the three viharas, placed the Relic in a golden reliquary, and keeping it in his royal chariot, allowed to go to one of the three viharas. The chariot unguided went to the Abahayagiri vihara, and the bhikkus thera accepted it and enshrined it in a gaily decorated 'dhatugruha' (relic chamber). It later became the palladium of regal authority.The Mahaviharavasins and the Jetavanavasins did not claim it.

*The custodians of the Sacred Tooth Relic are the Mahanayakes of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters. The lay custodian of the Sacred Tooth Relic is the Diyawadana Nilame.