Kandy Esala Perahera

Kandy Esala Perahera tours can be organized in combination with a round-trip.

The Esala Perahera in Kandy is one of the oldest and grandest of all Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka, featuring dancers, jugglers, musicians, fire-breathers, and lavishly decorated elephants. This is held in Esala (July or August) which is the month that is believed to commemorate the first teaching given by the Buddha after he attained enlightenment. The Kandy Esala Perahera lasts for ten days while various festivities can be witnessed right throughout. The Sinhalese term ‘Perahera’ means a parade of musicians, dancers, singers, acrobats and various other performers accompanied by a large number of caparisoned Tuskers and Elephants parading the streets in celebration of a religious event.

History of the Kandy Perahera

Old Ceylon Kandy Perahera – the Kandy Perahera originates with the arrival of Prince Dantha and Princess Hemamala, the son-in-law and daughter of King Guhasiva of Kalinga in India to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna (305-331 AD). Following the decree of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna that the Relic should be taken round the city of Anuradhapura once a year, the Esala Perahera had been followed by the succession of kings, though with interruptions caused by foreign invasions.

The most revealing narration of the Esala Perehera is found in the book written by the Chinese pilgrim ‘Fa Hien’ who visited Sri Lanka in the 5th century A.D. The sporadic invasions by the Dravidian Kingdoms resulted in the shifting of the seat of the kingdom from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, then to Dambadeniya and thereafter to other cities. In each retreat, a new temple was constructed to enshrine the Sacred Tooth Relic. Finally, after the shift of the capital to Kandy, the Relic has been undisturbed ever since and the Esala Perahera has been held annually to rejoice and honor the Sacred Tooth Relic. After the Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British in 1815, the custody of the Tooth Relic was handed over to the Buddhist Clergy. In the absence of the King, a lay custodian called the Diyawadana Nilame (Chief by head of trustee) was appointed to handle routine administrative matters. The purpose of the Kandy Esala Perahera Procession is to beseech blessings of the gods to obtain rain for the cultivation of crops and to enrich the lands of the kingdom.

This ritual is performed by carrying the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha through the streets of the Kandy city which is done with exceptional panache. This is considered as one of the most beautiful pageants in the Asia.

The Process of the pageant

On the following the new moon in July an Esala tree (Cassia Fistula) or at the present time, usually a Jak tree (Artocarpus Integrifolia) or Rukkattana tree (Alstonia Scholaris) is cut and 'Kap' planted in each Dewale as a vow that the Perahera will be held. For five nights processions are conducted within the Dewale precincts round the Esala Tree (or its substitute) with flag, drums and torches. The Kapurala (lay official of the Temple) walks in these processions carrying a golden weapon called "Ran Ayudhaya" said to belong to the Deity of the Temple and supposedly used by him in battle. These processions are held in all the four devales.

Kumbal Perahera

On the sixth night, the Kumbal Perahera begins and continues for five days. Initially, the Devale Perahera assembles in front of the Temple of the Tooth. The emblems placed on the ransivige(a dome-like structure) is accompanied by the Basnayake Nilames (the lay custodians of the Devales). Elephants,drummers and dancers will be seen in all these Peraheras.

For the next five nights, the “Devale Peraheras” take place within the premises of the four Devales with the priest of each Devale taking the pole every evening, accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers, spearman and the Ran Ayudha, the sacred insignia of the Gods.

It is on the sixth night that the Perahera is seen for the first time outside the Devales and is joined by the Dalada Maligawa Perahera. The temple chiefs wear their traditional white Kandyan court dress to walk in the procession. Each night the number of elephants in the Perahera is increased, making the Perahera bigger, grander and more colorful.

Randoli perehera

After five such nights is held the RANDOLI PERAHERA. Randoli literally means “Queen’s Palanquin". Up to 1775 the palanquins were carried alongside the elephants in the Perahera. Once the Dalada Maligawa was brought into the procession, however, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe decreed that the palanquins should be put at the end of the Perahera presumably because females could not be permitted to travel alongside the Sacred Tooth Relic. (The generally accepted theory is that the palanquins are a symbol of the presence of the Consorts of the Deities, but another tradition is that the Queens of the reigning monarch traveled in them.)

This is the only Perahera in the world which is held for ten days along with more than fifty Elephants and Tuskers, hundreds of drummers, dancers, singers and elegantly dressed pilgrims and spectators. The city of Kandy is fulfilled with tourists and local spectators during this period.

At the end of the last ‘Randoli’ Perahera the Maligawa Perahera enters the ‘Adahana Maluwa’ and stops there. This is in remembrance of the King Vimaladharmasuriya I (1592-1604), on his way from Delgamuwa to Kandy carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic; spend the night at this spot, having temporarily placed the Relic in the Gedige Shrine there, before ceremonially proceeding with it to his palace the next day.

Diya Kepeema and Day Perahera

After the final Perahera four Perahera’s from the four ‘devales’ head towards the steppingstones of the Getambe Mahaveli River near Peradeniya. The chief ‘kapuralas’ (priests) of the ‘devales’ then wade into the middle of the river. One of the ‘kapuralas’ marks a circle in the water with the point of a ‘golden’ sword. Then the priests’ empties the water into the river that is held in the ‘golden ewer’ (ran kendiya) which they had filled with water at the same spot the year before.

Then they fill them up again with fresh water (The ewers thus filled will be emptied and refilled here at the end of The Esala Perahera the following year). This ritual is known as the ‘diya kapeema’ (water cutting), which takes place on the morning of the last day of the festivities.

Then the four Peraheras start marching back to Kandy. On their way they stop at the ‘Pulleyar Kovil’ (Selvavinayagar Kovil) at Katukelle. The five Peraheras parade along the D. S. Senanayake Street and King Street three times. Finally the Maligawa Perahera enters the Maligawa and the devale Peraheras wind up at their respective temples, bringing the annual Kandy Esala Pageant to an end.

The following important times are announced by the firing of cannonballs, which can be heard all across Kandy.

1. The commencement of the Devale Perahera

2. The placing of the casket on the tuskers back

3. The commencement of the Dalada Maligawa Perahera

4. The completion of the Perahera

This itinerary can be tailored to your specific requirements, budget and tastes.

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