As a predominantly Buddhist country, the island nation of Sri Lanka is home to a number of colourful festivals and celebrations that mark the life and teachings of the great Buddha. Perhaps none are as spectacular as the Kandy Esala Perahera, a religious pageant that ranks as one of the best in Asia. Whether you're planning to visit Sri Lanka and experience the Kandy Festival firsthand or are simply interested in learning more about the event, here you'll find a wealth of information to help you better understand this important celebration.
DANCERS AND FLAG BEARERS ON PARADE DURING THE KANDY FESTIVAL. PHOTO CREDIT: DENNIS CANDY
What is the Kandy Festival?
The Kandy Festival is an ancient Buddhist festival that commemorates the first teaching given by Buddha after he attained enlightenment. It is officially known as the Kandy Esala Perahera and is also referred to as the Festival of the Tooth. The word 'Perahera' translates as 'religious procession' and Esala is a month in the Sinhalese calendar.
THE KANDY ESALA PERAHERA CIRCA 1885.
How did the Kandy Festival originate?
The Kandy Esala Perahera dates back to the 4th century AD when the sacred tooth relic of Buddha first arrived in Sri Lanka from India. The dental fragment was believed to have been saved from the ashes of Buddha's cremation and was kept as a royal possession. Once it arrived on the Tear Drop Isle the ruling king decreed that once a year the tooth relic would be paraded through the streets for the public to worship. This gave birth to the Esala Perahera, which continued through the centuries as the tooth relic made its way to the city of Kandy via Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and other important cities in Sri Lanka.
Today's version of the procession took form in 1775 when the second Nayaka king of Kandy, credited with reviving Buddhism in Sri Lanka after decades of colonial interference, placed the tooth relic at the head of four temple processions. However, since 1848 the original tooth relic remains kept in the Temple of the Tooth and a replica is used in its place as it was deemed inauspicious for the tooth to leave the temple sanctuary.
PATHURU DANCERS PERFORM IN BRIGHT COSTUMES. PHOTO CREDIT: DENNIS CANDY
How is the Kandy Festival celebrated?
The Kandy Esala Perahera takes place over the course of 10 days with grand processions of dancers, jugglers, musicians, fire-breathers, acrobats, flag and torch bearers and lavishly decorated elephants. It's a cacophony of banging drums, cracking whips and jazzy trumpets. The processions become progressively more elaborate with the first five nights known as the Kumbal Perahera and the following five nights the Randoli Perahera. The final night is the most spectacular of all with thousands of performers filling the streets and a replica of the Sacred Tooth Relic paraded in a casket mounted on the back of an elephant. It is known as the Maha Perahera, or 'Great Parade'.
The Ceremonies
The festival begins with the Kap Tree Planting Ceremony. Cuttings are taken from an anointed Jackfruit tree and planted in Kandy's four devales - independent shrines dedicated to different gods who follow Buddha. Kandy's devales are dedicated to Pattini (goddess of chastity), Vishnu (god of protection), Kataragama (guardian deity) and Natha (embodiment of compassion). On the final day of the festival the water-cutting ceremony takes place before dawn. The chief priests from the devales wade into the Mahaweli Ganga and use a sword to "cut" the water and symbolically separate pure from impure. The swords are used to create a circle in the river's surface, into which water is poured from a golden ewer. This water would have been collected from the river during the previous year's festival and the process is repeated each year when the golden ewer is filled with water once again. After this a smaller procession takes place during the afternoon under the light of day.
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