Sri's profileSri LankaPhotosBlogLists Tools Help

Blog


    March 28

    Kandy Perahera

     
    Kandy Esala Perahera
     
     
     
     
     
     
    An event of great historical and cultural significance takes place annually in the charming hill capital of Sri Lanka in a lunar month of Esala (July/August).The Kandy Esala Perahera is held in honour of the Tooth Relic and the four guardian deities Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini. It therefore consists of five components: the Maligawa perahera followed in order by those of the Natha Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini devalas (temples) situated in the neighbourhood of the Maligawa.Ever since the day when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka in the reign of King Kirti Sri Meghavanna (303 -331 A.D.) it has been the custom to celebrate this great event with the highest esteem and reverence.
     

    Kandy’s biggest attraction is the "Esala Perahara". It is a 10-day pagent which leads up to until the full moon of the month of July. There are two kinds of pagents. The first is called the "Kumbal Perahera" which parades for the first 5 nights. Then the "Randoli Perahera" which parades the last 5 nights. The last nights perahera is the grandest of all. Randoli means the ‘Queen’s Palanquin’. Up to 1775 A.D palanquins were carried alongside the elephants in the perahera. The elephants are dressed in colourful silk costumes. The number of elephants increase daily making the perahera more spectacular each night. Whip-crackers, fire-jugglers, stilt-walkers, drummers, dancers, and brightly clothed elephants roam the streets of Kandy in front of thousands of excited onlookers.

    Comments

    Please wait...
    Sorry, the comment you entered is too long. Please shorten it.
    You didn't enter anything. Please try again.
    Sorry, we can't add your comment right now. Please try again later.
    To add a comment, you need permission from your parent. Ask for permission
    Your parent has turned off comments.
    Sorry, we can't delete your comment right now. Please try again later.
    You've exceeded the maximum number of comments that can be left in one day. Please try again in 24 hours.
    Your account has had the ability to leave comments disabled because our systems indicate that you may be spamming other users. If you believe that your account has been disabled in error please contact Windows Live support.
    Complete the security check below to finish leaving your comment.
    The characters you type in the security check must match the characters in the picture or audio.

    To add a comment, sign in with your Windows Live ID (if you use Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox LIVE, you have a Windows Live ID). Sign in


    Don't have a Windows Live ID? Sign up

    Trackbacks

    Weblogs that reference this entry
    • None