south asia
Primarily a veneration of the Tooth
Relic – a tooth said to come from the
Buddha himself – this festival also
celebrates the coming of the rainy
season in Sri Lanka.
The country’s biggest festival is said
to have begun in the 4th century, when
King Kirti Siri Meghawanna decreedFESTIVAL MUST-SEE:
ESALA PERAHERA
Sri Lanka that the national treasure be paraded
through the city once a year.
The 10-day celebration begins with
the ceremonial cutting of a tree. Pieces
of the tree are then planted near the
temples of the Buddhist gods Natha,
Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini. For
the next five nights, processions take
place outside of the four temples with
plenty of dancing and music. Each
procession begins and ends with the
firing of a cannon shot.From the sixth to the 10th day,
processions from each shrine parade
toward the Dalada Maligawa, or
Temple of the Tooth, increasing in
size and grandeur.
On the final night, a replica of
the tooth is placed in a gold casket
on a massive elephant called the
Maligawa Tusker (the actual tooth must
stay within the temple sanctuary).
This regal elephant is bedecked in
embroidered cloth, jewels and bright
IMAGE © SHUTTERSTOCK82