“Esala Mangallya” Dalada Perahera

8 July 2014 11:16 am IT’S PAGEANTRY TIME OF THE YEAR, AND KANDY IS ALIVE WITH THE  Kandy town is like a comely lass, awaiting her bridal finery and the magical day of the wedding. Come the perahera season, the normally busy town center of Kandy becomes active like the proverbial bee-hive. Like bees to the flower, people from all around the country as well as from around the world, flock to Kandy. During this time of the year, it becomes extremely difficult to find lodging in Kandy due to the hordes of tourists - local and international - visiting Kandy to view the most elaborate of the processions ever to walk the roads of this ancient citadel . It is none other than what you and I know as the “Dalada Perahera” or the “Nuwara Perahera”. In this life time, one must experience the exhilaration of the perahera at least once in their lifetimes, if not more !! The month of July is named “Esala” in the local traditional calendar and it is a busy time for all the temples in the country. It is during this month that temples hold their annual perahera festivities  in great fashion. Of all the temples in the country, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is extra special and revered for the reason that it is the principal place of worship for the Buddhists , where the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha is housed. Each ruler who ever ruled the island made it their life’s mission to safeguard the sacred tooth relic as it symbolises the right of reign for the heir to the throne. Even after the end of the rule of kings, every ruler thereafter made it their responsibility to make sure that proper worship and reverence is accorded to the sacred tooth relic. Hence, the annual perahera of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic was held with full governmental sponsorship and due pageantry second to none. Kandy, where the Temple of the Tooth Relic resides in the Dalada Maligawa, comes alive during this period, with hundreds flocking to the city to venerate the Tooth Relic as well as to enjoy the many festivities and processions. In the run-up to the main perahera day, the city becomes festooned with many decorations, and everybody in and around the main city of Kandy becomes fired with the excitement of the perahera. Both the pilgrim and the mere visitor to Kandy vie hard to be part of this historical, and glorious pageant of music, dance and drums to the accompaniment of old-fashioned illuminations provided by burning copra in wire baskets. Esala perahera is thought to date back to 3rd Century BC when it was only a ritual performed to request the gods for proper rainfall for cultivation. After the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka by Prince Dantha and Princess Hemamala from India, and housed in a specially erected pavillion in Anuradhapura, every king who reigned in the country made it their responsibility to take care of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The perahera now performed has it’s roots in the period of King Kithsiri Meghawanna who ruled Anuradhapura in the 303-331 AD , when he decreed that it should be taken around the city for people to venerate and view. When the Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British, the custody of the Tooth Relic was handed over to the Maha Sangha and a lay custodian - the Diyawadana Nilame - who was appointed to assist in the routine administrative work. The sacred Tooth Relic also , over time, became the palladium of Sri Lanka, preservation of which depended on the country’s security and the true ruler became identified by the custody of the Tooth Relic. In the run-up to the start of the festivities, the town is cleared of all it’s dirt and dust. Foot as well as vehicular traffic to and from the city is quite streamlined to make sure no conjestion takes place. The current one-way traffic system and the stringent rules applied to road-crossing by pedestrians seems to have worked wonders to clear the city’s congestion dramatically. Following the new moon in the month of July, on an auspicious time and a date chosen especially for this task,  an Esala , Jak or Rukattana tree is cut  and this “Kap” is placed in the forecourt of each dewale, as a wow that the perahera be held. For five consecutive nights from then on,  the dewale processions are conducted around the Kap, with drums, torches and flags. On the sixth night starts the Kumbal Perahera and for the first time, the perahera ventures out of the premises of the dewales and this is joined by the Maligawa Perahera as well.Each night, the perahera would now get added with other interesting items,  becoming more elaborate and longer.After five days of Kumbal Perahera, the Randoli perahera would start. Randoli means palanquins of the queens. According to reports, during the earlier days, these palanquins were carried alongside the caparisoned elephants , but once the Maligawa perahera joined , King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe had decreed that the palanquins be carried at the end of the perahera. It is believed that  the presence of the palanquins in the perahera symbolises the presence of the consorts of the deities or the reigning monarch’s queens. Interestingly, there were different types of palanquins in use those days, and these were named differently according to the status of the person who used it.

•  Koonama       : The name given to the King’s palanquin
• Randoli          :  Used by the queen
• Pallakkiya       :  Used by the priests
•  Yakada Dilawa:  Used by the concubines
• Dolaawa         : Used by the chieftains

The grandest of all the processions is the final randoli perahera . The whole city of Kandy would be abuzz with the preparations for this day, which now, is quite a known day on the tourist calendars. Elephants from all over the country would be brought to Kandy days ahead and tied in the Maaligawa grounds which is quite a crowd puller. The awesome feeling an elephant inspires in one never diminishes , and the chance of seeing so many of them in one place, charming everyone who come to Kandy during this time, is a sight to behold. It is as if they understand why exactly they are there, and what grand happenings awaits them in the nights. The arrival of the perahera would be heralded by the sounds of the whip-crackers, announcing to the people to clear the way in the ancient tradition.The Maligawa perahera would take the lead while the four dewale’s processions would follow closely behind. The whip crackers  would be followed by flag bearers, the Peramunerala carrying the mandate to hold the perahera given by the King. The drummers would then follow with the Gajanayake Nilame who is in charge of the King’s elephant stables,  closely following. The Kariyakorale would then follow. The grand entrance of the elaborately bedecked Maligawa tusker proudly and reverently  carrying the golden casket of the sacred tooth relic would prompt the on-lookers to stand up to venerate the almost living presence of the Buddha in the guise of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The tusker would be accompanied on either side by two other elephants. A canopy would be held over the tusker and it would only walk on the white sheet (paawaada) rolled on to the road for it to step on. Two lines of traditional Kandyan dancers would dance energetically following the Maligawa tusker, behind who the Diyawadana Nilame would walk with his retinue of other Nilames, dressed in his Nilame regalia which would bring to mind to us the regal splendour of yesteryears. The four dewala perahera would then follow in the order of Natha, Maha Vishnu, Kataragama and Paththini, each of which would be as elaborate as the Dalada perahera. Each dewale perahera would carry a palanquin carrying “devabarana” (god’s jewellery) symbolising the presence and the majesty of the deity. In the night, through streets that have previously been washed and cleaned in the evening, , the grandest procession of the year would wind it’s way, to the accompaniment of the drum beats, and the whip-cracking. Thousands of locals and foreigners would await the sight of this perahera, sometimes, waiting from morning, patiently and excitedly. The clang of bells around the necks of the gentle giants would accompany the drum beats and sometimes, if you are lucky, you could catch the sight of an elephant dancing to the beat, enjoying the adoration and the importance it received on this magical night. The old-fashioned wire baskets in which the burning copra is carried, supplies illumination to the perahera along the streets with hundreds of dancers , dancing their traditional steps in their majestic elaborate costumes. In the night, even after the perahera has ended, for many minutes the city would still echo with the residual sounds of the various drums and other musical instruments, adding a charm to the night when people would be hurrying home. After returning to the Maligawa, the perahera goes out again to the Adahana Maluwa Viharaya where the golden casket is temporarily placed and guarded by the Basnayaka Nilames of the four dewales. This is done as a mark of respect to the Queen mother of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe who was cremated there. The dewala processions then return to their respective dewalas and in the following morning, in the early morning, the water-cutting ceremony would be performed. The whole perahera festival would come to an end in the afternoon when the Maligawa procession returns from the Adahana Maluwa Viharaya carrying back the golden casket. Another grand, much-awaited Dalada Perahera would thus come to an end. One must at least view the perahera once in their lifetimes, to experience the grandeur , splendour and experience the reverence  it evokes in you. It is one of the grandest cultural experiences of all in Sri Lanka ever to walk the streets. This year, the “Kap” ceremony is to be on the 27th July with the Kumbal and Randoli peraheras taking to the streets from the 1st - 11th August culminating in the grand “Maha Perahera” adorning the streets of Kandy on the 10th August night followed by the water-cutting ceremony taking place on the 11th August during the day-time, ending the annual festivities.