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Yoshi Heffernan
Kandy City Hostel is a nice place to stay. Even the location about far from the lake and more to the hills. It was low season for business, so I got one full room for myself. Such a queen in 8 bed bunkers. The owner is a couple from Finland. Once I arrived, they just want to open a white wine, so I drink together with them. Hehehe, nice welcome drink! They had one nice dog who finally following me around and accompanied me to the rooftop where I can sit nicely and relaxing. No one stayed in the hostel, except me and another one male guest. Kandy was so quiet in the evening.
When the evening came, we go down the hills and go to the temple. It was lots of people already on the street. Many of them waited from the morning to see the Festival and try to find the best spot to sit to watched. So many police also in the roads, you need to really see your friends to not get lost in the crowded.
The Festival itself took time around 2-3 hours. So many people joining the performance. Many dancer, people who bring the flags, elephant.. lots of elephants in beautiful and shinning wardrobe. Once the sacred elephant comes bring the tooth relic, all the audience will stand up to give respect to Buddha. In old tradition, the festival believed has 2 separate but connected procession (perahera) as Esala and Dalada. Esala held because the ritual for asking a rainfall while Dalada is believed begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha brought from India during 4th century to Sri Lanka, eight hundred years after the passing away of Lord Buddha (wikipedia).
It was my first colorful festival. Very grand, elegant and so many dancers with beautiful music they sing. In fact, it was my first festival ever to attended. I was so excited and glad that I could see it. If you want to know more about the festival, this website hope can helps you : -perahera
The Kubal Perahera is the start the processions through town. At the start of the Kubal Perahera, the Devale Perahera assemble in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Their insignias are placed on the ransivige escorted by the Basnayake Nilames who called as the lay custodians of the Devales.
The Kubal Perahera is the start the processions through town. At the start of the Kubal Perahera, the Devale Perahera assemble in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Their insignias are placed on the ransivige escorted by the Basnayake Nilames who called as the lay custodians of the Devales.And, Devales parade starts with the Natha Devale. Second, Vishnu Devale which is dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu come next. The third is the Kataragama Devale which is dedicated to the God of Kataragama. This parade includes various dances such as Kavadi, the peacock dance. The forth and final parade is from the Pattini Devale which is dedicated to the goddess Pattini who is associated with the cure of infectious diseases and is called upon in times of drought and famine. This is very special because it is the only parade that has women dancers. It is believed that the pageants of the four Devales were added to the main perahera during the era of the Nayakkar kings who had their origins in the Hindu tradition. On this special occation, the Diyawadana Nilame who dressed in his traditional Kandyan costume and elaborate jewelary is followed by the Basnayaka Nilames, the lay custodians of the four Devales.- Perehara Period 2024 - 10th August 2024 - 19th Aug 202410th Aug 2024 - 14th Aug 2024 - Kumbal Perahera15th Aug 2024 - 17th Aug 2024 - Randholi Perahera18th Aug 2024 - 19th Aug 2024 - Randholi Final Perahera
In Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), the most important Buddhist relics are the Tooth of the Buddha and the Bodhi Tree. Legendary history has it that a sapling grown from a cutting from the original Bodh Tree in Bodh Gaya, beneath which the Buddha attained enlightenment, was brought to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE. Further, the left canine tooth of the historical Buddha is said to have been pulled from his funeral pyre, and it became both an essential symbol of royal rule and a cause of much conflict. The possessor of the Tooth Relic was said to be the ruler of the land. Due to the subsequent conflicts, the Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka in the fourth century, and has always been maintained in an especially sacred temple, moving as the capital of the island nation has moved. In the 16th century, Kandyan kings began a 300-year reign, and the Tooth was moved to Kandy, where it resides today in a splendid, astonishing temple filled with Buddhist sculptures presented as gifts over the centuries from across the Buddhist world.
While the Kandy Perahera is the grandest, almost every town and village in Sinhalese Sri Lanka has their own perahera. YouTube has many perahera videos from many places. It is extraordinary to see that each town and village has able drummers and trained dancers. There are traditional dancers everywhere. As a dance form, Kandyan dance would be classified, according to classical Indian understanding, as nritta, or pure dance, with no story or drama. There are certainly Kandyan dances that tell stories, but mostly, it is formal, technical, pure dance. Please enjoy this video, with many examples of processional dancing.
It is easy to forget that Buddhism originated more than 2,500 years ago. Religious, royal, and agricultural practices continue today from periods that we would consider early civilization. A number of necessary adaptations allowed Buddhism to gain dominance in Sri Lanka: it was associated with the rulers of Sri Lanka since before the Common Era, who were Buddhist and Sinhalese, the dominant ethnic group. Sri Lanka had even older connection with South Indian cultural and religions forms. The main pantheon of Sri Lanka is comprised of four deities: Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama, and Pattini. These are Hindu and indigenous deities. The more ancient perahera in Sri Lanka is a Hindu procession. The royal Buddhist Perahera fused, sometime after the fourth century, with this long-existing ritual and became the Esala Perahera, essentially combining the two grand processional rituals into a spectacle of ancient resplendence seldom seen today.
It is a matter of discussion about when exactly the Hindu and Buddhist processions combined. The local Sinhalese understanding of the fusion of religions is interpreted this way: all deities, elephants, and humans bow to the Buddha, who is King God above the other deities. In fact, both the Buddha, worshipped as the Tooth Relic, and Hindu deities are worshipped in the Kandy Perahera. In the 16th century, the whole ceremonial procession was moved to Kandy, home of the seat of government.
Drumming, dancing, and music attended every royal function and occasion in Sri Lanka, save veneration of the Tooth Relic, around which dancing was prohibited. Sub-castes were created, bringing Kandyan dancers and drummers specifically to become part of the higher castes. A separate 19th caste was created, the Balibat caste, royally appointed to perform exorcistic rituals on behalf of the state. The tradition of appointing clan families and castes as stewards of ancient rituals, including Buddhist rituals, is common in Nepal, Sr Lanka, and Japan, among other cultures. This naming of caste ritual performers is also an indicator of antiquity.
In 1919, for the first time in history, the drummers attending the Temple of the Tooth Relic were allowed to dance as well as drum before the sacred temple, as part of the moving Perahera. The stationary drummers became dancing devotees, encircling elephants, inspiring the crowd, and expressing a uniquely Ceylonese style of movement. A century later, the Kandyan dancers and drummers are the beating heart of the procession.
Today, the Kandy Esala Perahera continues its annual performance, although the caste structures are less strictly enforced and represented. Older, smaller perahera rituals in more remote communities reflect older social structures than those in cities and towns. The glory of Kandyan dance and the splendor of the Perahera have only grown in significance. Kandyan dance is the top cultural export of Sri Lanka, and the Kandy Esala Perahera is the top tourist and pilgrimage event in the country. It is showered in superlatives: the oldest Buddhist ritual! The grandest Buddhist ritual of the ancient world! The longest ritual procession in Asia! We can say with some certainty that it is the Buddhist ritual with the most elephants, and that says a lot about where it is from and how very old it is.
The Esala Perahera in Kandy in July-August is a ten day summer festival held before and on the full moon poya of Esala. Described as one of the most incredible celebrations in the world, this medieval pageant starts slowly, gaining momentum each day until the climax at the full moon. Taking part in festival are hundreds of Kandyan dancers and drummers in colorful headdresses and traditional beaded costumes, Kandyan chieftains in medieval court dress, more than 100 caparisoned elephants, whip crackers, torch bearers, conch trumpeters, dancing and juggling torch spinners and other participants.
The first six days of the festival are relatively mellow. On the seventh day the processions becomes more elaborate. There are processions in which the peraheras (shrines) for four devales (deities that protect the island) are carried through the streets. The four deities are Nantha (the deified Buddha-to-be and tutelary of Kandy); Vishnu (the guardian of Sri Lanka) ; Skanda (god of war and victory); and Pattini (the goddess of chastity).
The Kandy Esala Perahera is held annually in July August on days fixed by the Diyawadana Nilame (Chief Lay Head or Trustee) of the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic). The festival ritual formally begins the day after a new moon in July when a an escala tree is cut. The month of Esala also commemorates the birth of the Hindu god Vishnu and some say the festival is held annually to placate the Gods to ensure timely rain for cultivation. Other believe that the festival also celebrates the victory of the gods (suras) over the demons (asuras) and the invasion of the Chola country by King Gajabahu (A.D. 174-196). Perahera has been held more than 1,600 years.
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