Esala Perahera

Esala Perahera (the festival of the tooth) is the grand festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka. It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka.

The Esala Perahera which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th Century AD.

Commences on Esala Full Moon Poya Day on the month of July and Concludes on Nikini Full Moon Poya Day on the month of August. There are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional 'diya-kepeema'.The significance of this great event is to invoke blessings of the gods to give the farmers rain to cultivate their crops. This ritual is performed by carrying the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha through the city streets which is done with great ceremony.

The ritual of the Perahera (Esela Perahera) continues in Kandy with more and more people attending each year to watch majestic tusker proudly parade the streets of the ancient Sinhalese kingdom followed by over more than a hundred elephants with the custodians and other officials dressed in the traditional Sinhalese attire of chieftains riding them. The sound of blowing conch shells and whip cracking starts off the excitement or the approaching perahera. The beating of at least three types of traditional drums, the Kandyan dancers, Acrobats, and other artists that perform in the light of flame torches certainly would take you back in a time machine.

The Order of the Perahera (The main Perahera procession consists of five separate Peraheras)

The Dalada Maligawa Perahera-

The Natha Dewala Perahera-

The Maha Vishnu Dewala Perahera-

The Katharagama Dewale Perahera-

The Pattini Dewale Perahera

This order of precedence is maintained throughout

Modern Perahera

The Modern Perahera dates back to the reign of the Kandy an King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 – 1781 AD). During these times, the Tooth Relic was considered private property of the King and the public never got a chance to worship it. However, King Rajasinghe decreed that the Relic be taken in procession for the masses to see and venerate.After the Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British in 1815, the custody of the Relic was handed over to the Maha Sanga (the Buddhist Clergy). In the absence of the king, a lay custodian called the "Diyawadana Nilame" was appointed to handle routine administrative matters.

The Procession

The Kandy Esala Perahera begins with the Kap Situveema or Kappa, in which a sanctified young Jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in the premises of each of the four Devales dedicated to the four guardian gods Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama and the goddess Pattini. Traditionally it was meant to shower blessing on the King and the people.

The Kumbal Perahera

For the next five nights, the "Devale Peraheras" take place within the premises of the four Devales with the priest of each Devale taking the pole every evening, accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers, spearman and the Ran Ayudha, the sacred insignia of the Gods. On the sixth night, the Kumbal Perahera begins and continues on for five days. Initially, the Devale Peraheras assemble in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa.

At about 8pm, the Maligawa Perahera joins the awaiting Devale Peraheras and leads the procession. Whip-crackers and fireball acrobats clear the path, followed by the Buddhist flag bearers. Then, riding on the first elephant, is the official called Peramuna Rala (Front Official). He is followed by Kandy an Drummers and Dancers who enthrall the crowd, and are themselves followed by elephants and other groups of musicians, dancers and flag bearers. A group of singers dressed in white heralds the arrival of the Maligawa Tusker carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Diyawadana Nilame (traditionally required to do everything in his power to ensure rain in the correct season) walks in traditional Kandyan-clothed splendor after the tusker.

The second procession is from the Natha Devale, which faces the Sri Dalada Maligawa and is said to be the oldest building in Kandy, dating back to the 14th Century.The third is from the Vishnu Devale (Vishnu being a Hindu god), also known as the Maha Devale. It is situated in from of the main gate of the Natha Devale.The fourth procession is from the Katharagama Devale (dedicated to the God of Katharagama, identified with the warrior god Skanda) which is on Kottugodalle Vidiya (a street in Kandy). This procession includes Kavadi, the peacock dance, in which the pilgrim-dances carry semicircular wooden contraptions studded with peacock feathers on their shoulders.The fifth and final procession is from the Pattini Devale (Pattini being a goddess associated with the cure of infectious diseases and called upon in times of drought and famine), which is situated to the West of the Natha Devale. This is the only procession that has women dances.

The Randoli Perahera

The Randoli Perahera begins after five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to palanquins on which the Queens of the ruling Kings traditionally traveled.

Diya Kepeema and the Day Perahera

After a further five nights of the Randoli Perahera, the pageant ends with the Diya Kepeema, which is the water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, a town a few miles from Kandy. A Day Perahera is held to mark the ceremony.

Daladha Maligawa

The Temple of the sacred Tooth is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings. This is the heart of Kandy, and the Tooth of Buddha is the heart of it. The relic came from India sixteen centuries ago, and moved from capital to capital always with the king. It is rarely shown and never leaves the temple.

The Temple built between 1687 and 1707. According to legend, the tooth was taken from the Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre and smuggled to Sri Lanka hidden in Princess Hemamali's hair, where it survived numerous attempts to capture and destroy it. Today, this famous religious relic attracts white-clad pilgrims, bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani, every day. The temple is joined to the Pattiripuwa (Octagon), built in 1803, which was originally used as a prison, but now houses a collection of palm-leaf manuscripts. There are many other attractions in this ancient city, including Natha Devale, a stone sanctuary and the oldest building in Kandy, and Mahavishnu Devale, a temple which is dedicated to Vishnu, the protector of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Natha Devale
Situated opposite the Tooth Temple. The stone sanctuary is the oldest building in Kandy, built five centuries ago when Kandy was founded ; it is dedicated to the next Buddha to come to the world. The gateway from it to the north is old, with good sculpture. It has a dagoba and a bo-tree, sapling of that at Anuradhapura.

Mahavishnu Devale
Situated opposite the gateway. Dedicated to Vishnu as the Protector of Sri Lanka (but it is a Buddhist temple, not Hindu).

Although the Dlada Maligawa is under the custodianship of the Maha Nayaka Theros ( Chief Monks), of Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters, there is a laymen who attends on the lay activities related to the administration of the Dalada Maligawa. This person is called ‘Diyawadana Nilame’. He is the lay custodian of the Tooth Relic and the Dlada maligawa. He looks after the Temple properties and the day today activities of the Maligawa. He is in charge of the safety and security of the Tooth Relic and all the gifts bestowed on the Tooth Relic. There are many officials who take part in the lay administration of the Maligawa. These are Kariya Karawana Korala, Vattoru Raala, Gepa raala, Hakgedi Raala, Kaththiyana Raala, Gabada Mohottala, Alaththi Ammas, Palle Maale Raala , Muluthengei Raala and several Mohottalas in charge of various things.