Season of peraheras and festivals

Esala is the season of peraheras. From Nallur in the north to Devinuwara in the south, from Colombo on the

 west coast to Batticaloa on the east coast, there is a perahera somewhere in the island at this time of the year. The season of peraheras begins in the first half of the month of Esala, continues through the month and runs into the next month Nikini.

As soon as the drumming stops in one venue, it is taken up at some other shrine. There are peraheras and peraheras, but the peraheras held in this season - months of Esala and Nikini (roughly mid-July/August/ mid-September) are the finale of a devala festival, the annual festival or the most important festival of the year.

The Kataragama Maha Devala festival commenced on Sunday, July 15, the first event of Esala.

The month begins the day after the 'amavaka', when there is no moon in the sky. The last day of the month of Poson was July 14.

These are peraheras which have been held for 300 or even 400 years and they are held in honour of some god or gods venerated island-wide or by the people of the district.

The Gods in whose honour the Esala Mangalla (festival) is held annually are Kataragama Deviyo (God Kataragama) also called Kathiresan, Kandasamy Subramanium and Gods Saman, Vishnu, Ishvara and the Goddess Paththini.

Local or provincial gods also have festivals in their honour during this season and the finale of the festival is the perahera or procession in which the weapons of the god or any other emblem are carried for public veneration. One such local god in whose honour a festival is held during this season is Aiyanayaka Deviyo. The festival is held at the Aiyanayaka Devala in Morakelay, Nattandiya and is known as Naanu Mura Mangalla.

Another local God is Thanivella Deviyo, whose shrine is at Madampe by the Negombo - Puttalam Road close to

 Chilaw; the festival is usually held in August. The world famous Kandy Perahera too was originally an Esala perahera in honour of the four gods highly venerated in the old Sinhala Kingdom - the Kanda Uda Rata, and the perahera, the culmination of the Esala Mangalla was known as the Satara Devala Perahera.

The Dalada Perahera was added, during the reign of Keerthi Sri Rajasingha in the year 1752/1753.

The peraheras in the old Sinhala Kingdom follow a definite order. The Esala Mangalla, or the Esala festivals start at Kataragama. This is followed by the festival at the Dedimunda devala in Aluthnuwara, near Mawanella in the Kegalle district.

When the Aluthnuwara perahera comes to a close, the Esala rites (pooja) at the Maligawa and the four devalas in Kandy - Naatha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Paththini devalas begin and culminate on the full-moon day of that month.

As soon as the drumming stops in Kandy, it is taken up at the Dodanwela Devala in Manikdivela a few km off the Kandy Road from Pilimatalawa, and then at Embekke, Hanguranketha. The series of peraheras end with the Saman Devala perahera in Mahiyangana in which the aadivasi community takes part. The Ratnapura Saman Devala perahera usually follows the Kandy perahera.

The Devinuwara Vishnu Devala festival and perahera come after the Kataragama festival. This devala has a history going back to the time Anuradhapura was the capital of Lanka.

King Dapulusen I had built a vihara and a devala for God Upulvan, when he was ruler of Ruhuna with Devundara or Devinuwara as his capital.In the reign of Rajasinghe I or around that time, the gods Upulvan and Vishnu came to be regarded as one, as both were blue.

To be continued next week.

Sumana Saparamadu