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The significance of this great event is to invoke blessings of the gods to give the farmers rain to cultivate their crops. This ritual is performed by carrying the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Budda through the city streets which is done with great pageantry.
The tooth relic was brought to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the year 310 AD and the first Perehera was performed in Anuradhapura the first capital where the sacred relic was housed. Even as the capitals were shifted due to invasions, the sacred tooth relic went with it too and was much revered and always in the custody of the king. Finally finding a permanent resting place in the hill capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom Kandy, The Relic lies in the "Dalada Maligawa" (Temple of the tooth) which was built by king Wimaladharmasuriya in the 16th century. The Sacred Relic is housed there and is the most visited and important temple of Sri Lanka.
The ritual of the Perahera (Esela Perahera) continues in Kandy with people from many parts of the country attending each year to watch majestic tusker proudly parade the streets of the ancient Sinhalese kingdom followed by many elephants with their custodians and other officials dressed in the traditional Sinhalese attire. The sound of blowing conch shells and whip cracking starts off the excitement or the approaching perahera. The beating of many traditional drums, Kandyan dancers, Acrobats, and other artists that perform in the light of flame torches certainly would take you back to a time gone by. The Kandy Esela Perahera is one of the highest expressions of Sri Lanka’s national heritage and culture. |
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