Festival of the Tooth – By Dr harold Gunatillake
This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
Hello Viewers, Esala perahera, or pageant, started on the 21st of August this year, as the Kumbal perahera was for 7 days and was followed by the Randoli perahera, terminated on the 30th of August. The next day was the day perahera.
Kandy town was crowded with families who had come to watch this pageant. Never seen such crowds in the past. This is a true reflection of the economic stability and prosperity in the country and for people to get about freely as was many years ago, sure sign of prosperity and stability in the country.
I was lucky to sit at the HNBank building in Kandy to watch the Perahera this year. One hour before the event at 7 p.m., there were chock-a-block crowds of families, including infants, on the road, hardly any space to move, and I believe this is the preamble fun people enjoy.
All vehicles are prohibited in the city’s heart after 6 p.m. till the procession ends at midnight. After watching the splendid pageant, people walk to Getambe 3klm away to enjoy the rest of the morning at the carnival. https://youtu.be/FmS6_DklNOU?si=RtVhCsNGYmz1iB Website: www.Doctorharold.com
The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy), also known as The Festival of the Tooth, is held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. When we talk of pageants, the commonest one is the chosen one in a beauty parade. Miss World contest is one of those pageants. The Annual Esala Perahera in Kandy is a pageant synthesising religious fervour with drum-beating rhythmic dances and a procession of elephants parading in unison with the drum beating, a spectacle found nowhere else in the world.
In India, they have pageants in honour of deities like Diwali 2023, Holi 2023, Durga Puja 2023, Navratri 2023, Ganesh Chaturthi 2023, Eid 2023, Janmashtami 2023, Raksha Bandhan 2023 and many more.
Still, our pageant is unique and more entertaining, though it is a religious event. The Perahera is about to pass our street. Let’s enjoy watching this splendour, and I will return to you later.
The Kandy festival begins with a train of proud torch-bearers and gorgeously dressed men brandishing long whips. Each stroke of the whip breaks the silence and the glorious light from the torches brings a mystical touch to the atmosphere.
Hope you enjoyed the captures of the perahera. Dinner was sponsored by the HNBank, which we thoroughly enjoyed after being so tired and hungry watching the pageant for nearly 2 hours. Stay safe, and goodbye for now.
