සෙංකඩගල පෙරහැර මංගල්‍යය · எசல பெரகெர

The tradition & historical record

The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth, is an annual religious and cultural festival held in the months of July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historic procession is conducted to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, which is enshrined at the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy. The Perahera is considered a unique symbol of Sri Lankan heritage and features a vibrant array of traditional performances, including fire dances, whip dances, and other cultural displays. The festival concludes with the Diya Kepeema, a water-cutting ceremony held at the Mahaweli River in Getambe, Kandy. ¹

The Esala Perahera is believed to be a fusion of two distinct yet interconnected processions: the Esala Perahera and the Dalada Perahera. The Esala Perahera, which is thought to have originated in the 3rd century BCE, was a ritual performed to invoke the blessings of the gods for timely rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is said to have commenced following the arrival of the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha in Sri Lanka from India during the 4th century CE, approximately eight centuries after the passing of the Buddha. ¹

The present form of the Perahera dates back to the period of the Kingdom of Kandy; however, the tradition of parading the Sacred Tooth Relic is over 1,500 years old. The efforts of the Buddhist monk Upali Thera played a significant role in the evolution of the Kandy Esala Perahera. Initially, the procession primarily honoured Brahminical deities who had been assimilated into local Buddhist practices. Upali Thera considered this approach inconsistent with the Buddhist principles of the nation. Influenced by his teachings, the reigning king proclaimed: "Henceforth, gods and men are to follow the Buddha." Following the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom to the British in 1815, the custody of the Sacred Tooth Relic was entrusted to the Maha Sangha (the Buddhist monastic order). In the absence of a ruling monarch, the position of Diyawadana Nilame (chief lay custodian) was instituted to oversee the day-to-day administrative functions relating to the relic and its veneration. ¹

The Kandy Esala Perahera begins with the Kap Situveema (also known as Kappa), a ritual in which a sanctified young jackfruit tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in the premises of each of the four Devales (shrines) dedicated to the guardian deities—Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama, and the goddess Pattini. Traditionally, this ceremony was believed to invoke blessings upon the king and the people. ¹

For the next five nights, the Devale Peraheras are conducted within the precincts of the four Devales. Each evening, the chief priest of the respective Devale leads the procession, accompanied by traditional drummers, musicians, flag and canopy bearers, spearmen, and the Ran Ayudha (golden insignia of the deities). On the sixth night, the Kumbal Perahera commences and continues for five days. The Devale Peraheras converge in front of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), the most venerated Buddhist site in Sri Lanka, where the Sacred Tooth Relic has been housed since the 16th century. The insignia of each deity is placed in a ransivige (a domed canopy) and carried in procession by elephants under the guidance of the respective Basnayake Nilames (lay custodians of the Devales). ¹

The Sacred Casket, a replica of the Tooth Relic, is enshrined in a ransivige mounted on the back of the Maligawa Tusker. The Maligawa Perahera then leads the main procession. Whip-crackers and fireball acrobats go ahead to clear the path, followed by Buddhist flag bearers. Leading the official segment is the Peramuna Rala (Front Official), mounted on the first elephant. He is followed by traditional Kandyan drummers and dancers, who captivate the onlookers with their performances. Subsequent sections include additional elephants, musicians, dancers, and flag bearers. A group of singers clad in white heralds the arrival of the Maligawa Tusker carrying the Sacred Casket. Behind the tusker walks the Diyawadana Nilame, the chief lay custodian of the relic, dressed in ceremonial Kandyan attire. Traditionally, he is considered responsible for invoking rainfall in due season. The second procession originates from the Natha Devale, situated facing the Dalada Maligawa. ¹

The Randoli Perahera begins after the conclusion of the five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to the royal palanquins in which the queens of the ancient Kandyan kings were carried. The final Randoli Perahera usually holds on the Nikini full moon Poya day, and witnessed the participation of hundreds of thousands of spectators. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kandy Esala Perahera”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Esala Perahera is festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²