“The Kandy Perahera is a religious festival. The Buddha’s Tooth Relic is taken in the perahera. The place where the Tooth Relic is kept is called the Dalada Maligawa. The Diyawadana Nilame is the guardian of the Dalada Maligawa and is an important person in the procession. The procession of the four devalas - Vishnu, Natha, Kataragama and Pattini join the Kandy Perahera.”

This paragraph is from the lesson titled festivals in the Grade 6 Pupil’s Work Book (Page 49). This is incorrect. The procession of the four devala does not join the Kandy perahera; they are a part of the Kandy perahera.

The Kandy perahera is an amalgam (combination) of the Dalada or Maligawa perahera and the peraheras of the four devalas. They are separate processions (not procession as in the book) of the four devalas, Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini in that order, not Vishnu, Natha.

Sathara Devala

In common parlance (way of speaking) this grand annual pageant is the Kandy perahera; but, in fact, it is the Esala perahera held from the time Senkadagala Nuwara became the ‘Maha Nuwara’ (capital) of the Sinhala Kingdom. Robert Knox who was kept a prisoner by King Rajasingha II for twenty years from 1660-1679, has recovered that “a solemn feast was celebrated in the city of Kandy in the month of June-July”.This feast or festival was started long before Knox’s time.

Kandy’s Esala Perahera was originally the “Satara Devala” (four devala) perahera and the finale of the Esala Mangalla held throughout the Sinhala kingdom. The Esala Mangalla is a festival in honour of a particular god or gods and a devala is the venue of the festival. Some of these festivals are the Ruhunu Kataragama Esala festival in honour of God Kataragama (Deviyo ), and the Devinuwara festival in honour of God Vishnu. At Munneswaram the festival is in honour of God Ishvara, at Nallur-God Kandasamy and Goddess Pattini at Nawagamuwa.

It was only in 1752/53 that the Dalada or Maligawa perahera was added to the Satara Devala perahera. It was done on a suggestion of Upali thero who had come from Siam (now Thailand) to confer the Upasampada (higher ordination on the Sinhala bhikkhus. Watching the Satara Devala perahera the thero felt sad that the Buddha had no place and he told this to Saranankara Sangharaja who conveyed it to the king. Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe then gave an order that henceforth the perahera should be led by the Maligawa perahera carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic for public veneration. Munkotuway Rala sums up the order of the peraher in the narrative poem Sangharaja Vata. Natha Devala procession follows the Maligawa perahera, taking precedence over Vishnu Devala, as Natha is the guardian God of Maha Nuwara and is said to be an incarnation of Maitri Bodhisatva.

The composition of the perahera has changed over the years. When Dr. John Davy, physician to the British Governor saw the perahera in the last days of the Sinhala kingdom, the king, queen and ladies of the court went in the procession.

Now, there are women only in the Pattini Devala Perahera.In the 1930, a Japanese monk walked in the procession beating his own drum. Now rows and rows of young men dressed in white carrying Buddhist flags are part of the perahera. Some folk dances like the ‘Kulu’ (winnowing fan) dance by women have also been introduced.

Rites

Although the composition of the perahera has changed over the years, the rites haven’t changed and the perahera starts sharp at the auspicious time. No waiting for MPs and VIPs to arrive to place the Relic Casket on the elephant, as so often happens in low-country perahera. The rites are meticulously (with great care to details) followed. The first is the planting of the ‘kap’ - the sacred post - with which the festival begins. The other is the diya kapeema’ which brings the festival to its close.

Sumana Saparamadu

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Planting of Kap

(Kap Situveema)

The planting of the Sacred post is the first rite. On an auspicious day before the new moon - the chief lay officials of each devala - the Basnayaka Nilame - assemble under a young jak tree that has borne no fruit and has a trunk of a certain girth. It is fumigated with burning resin - dummala - and smeared with a preparation of sandalwood. Nine lamps and nine flowers are placed on nine betel leaves and placed at the foot of the tree as offerings. Then, the tree is felled by a woodcutter dressed in white, who has earlier purified himself by sprinkling lime juice on his body.

The woodcutter divides the trunk into four equal parts and each part is carried to the devalas led by tom-tom beaters. On the day of the new moon, this piece of consecrated wood is planted in the devala grounds. It is protected by a roof and is covered and ornamented with tender coconut palm leaves, flowers and fruits.

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Water cutting ceremony

(Diya kapeema)

With this rite, the Esala perahera comes to a close. After the Maha Perahera goes back to the Maligawa and the other peraheras to their devala, the procession forms again after midnight and heads for Asgiriya Vihara which is a few streets away from the Maligawa.

The Sacred Tooth Relic is placed, with much reverence, in the vihara. The Maligawa Perahera remains at Asgiriya while the four devala peraheras proceed to the Getambe ferry, where a boat is waiting for them in mid-stream.

The kapuralas or priests of the devala, each with an attendant gets into the boat and rows up the river carrying swords and golden pitchers.

At the first flush of dawn, the kapuralas strike the water with their golden swords; as they strike, the attendants empty the pithcers of last year’s water and fill them with fresh water that the sword has touched.

This ceremony is the finale to the perahera.

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Order of Peraheras

The perahera starts on the day after the planting of the ‘kap’. The first four days, the processions are in the devala grounds.

Kumbal Perahera starts on the fifth day. The four devala processions come to the Maligawa. The Dalada perahera sets out to parade the streets and the Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini devala processions follow in that order. There are drummers and dancers, flute players and conch blowers and elephants. Kumbal Perahera is held for five nights.

Randoli Perahera begins on the 11th night and goes on for four nights getting grander each night. On the fifteenth night is the final and the grandest Maha Perahera. This is on the night of the full-moon.

After the watercutting (diya kapeema) ceremony the devala peraheras proceed to the Gana Devi Kovil in Katukele, pay their poojas and proceed to Asgiriya Vihara.

There, they join the Dalada Perahera, parade the streets and enter their respective devalas and the Dalada procession enters the Maligawa. This “Day Perahera” brings to a close the Esala Perahera and the Esala Mangallaya.

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Composition of the

Maligawa Perahera

The Maligawa or Dalada Perahera is composed of

1. Whip crackers announcing the arrival of the perahera.

2. Fire-jugglers - men spinning rings of fire.

3. Man on elephant carrying the Buddhist flag.

4. Young men carrying Buddhist flags.

5. Peramune Rala on elephant carrying a large ola book.

6. Chiefs of the district of the old Sinhala Kingdom with their attendants bearing the district flag.

7. Tom-tom beaters, conch blowers, flute players, flag bearers and elephants.

8. Gajanayake Nilame with Karanduwa.

9. Elephants drummers, singers.

10. Kariya Karawana Rala.

12. Drummers and dancers followed by Kavikara Maduwa choir singing songs in praise of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Dalada).

13. Maligawa Tusker carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic Casket, with two elephants on either side. Men seated on these elephants throw jasmine flowers on to the casket.

14. Drummers and Ves dancers. With song and dance they pay their respects to the Diyawadana Nilame.

15. The Diyawadana Nilame walks with measured step under a white umbrella decked with pearls, accompanied by his retinue.

End of the Dalada / Maligawa Perahera

The Devala peraheras follow. Each procession has an elephant carrying the emblems of the deva and the Basnayaka Nilame of the devala follows this elephant, accompanied by other Basnayaka Nilames of provincial devalas.