History
The Esala Perahera in Kandy is believed to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected "Peraheras" (Processions) ? The Esala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th Century AD.
The Order of the Perahera
The main Perahera procession consists of five separate Peraheras:
- The Dalada Maligawa Perahera
- The Natha Dewala Perahera
- The Maha Vishnu Dewala Perahera
- The Katharagama Dewale Perahera
- The Pattini Dewale Perahera
This order of precedence is maintained throughout
The Greatest All Human & Pachyderm Light & Sound show of the world
Spectacularly illuminated tropical night, a night to beat all the nights, even after the pageant, your heart still pumps blood faster as if you have taken a dose of Viagra. The procession is illuminated by itself. The resplendent pageant of the resplendent island. The fire, light, sound, man & elephant delight of the land of delights. Our man in the front is followed by a chain of thousands of Kandyan drummers, dancers & brass flute players. If the combination of explosive play of thousands of thunderous traditional drums & vibrant hi-frequency play of traditional brass flutes make your heart skip a beat till you get used to the rhythm, the sight of the thousands of acrobatic dancers of the flame posts, dancers of flame arches & flame breathers in their fluid non-stop circus, hold you spellbound. Flanking the entire procession are torch bearers. Walking with measured step, they carry the flaming long wooden posts high, illuminating everything & everybody, all the way with a golden orange tint with a view to dance. The crack of whips, chanting of the devotees, the clanking of the chain shackles on the elephant, the dull thud of their feet, the clank of the cartwheels. Torches struck on the street to disperse ashes make twinkles of thousands of beads of lights, the flames of the torches, colourful & vibrant costumes, colourful banners, colours of the temple of the tooth, the colours of the other temples. Tonight everybody show their colours.
The Beats & Rhythms
The drummers playing traditional drums called Dawulas, Tammettamas & Beres & flute players trumpeting traditional brass flutes called Horanwes are attired in white sarongs, Bruce Springsteen-like red cummerbunds & turban-like head gear with shining jingles jangling. The toes get tingled & the gaily clad dancers sport jangling silver jewllery, bracelets, and anklets & do their non stop dance to the beats & rhythms of the tireless drummers & flute players.
The Boss of the bosses
On the back of an elaborately adorned magnificent tusker is the Boss of the bosses: Gajanayake Nilame or Head of the Royal Elephants. Tonight 100 or so elephants are the bosses. Fear not. The beasts have reckoned their pride of place. Tonight the ancient bulldog & bulldozer of the nation is in good form in the greatest pageant of Asia. Then again the pageant signifies the human ingenuity & valour in having conquered, tamed & trained wild elephants. While the first record of association between the Sinhalese & the elephant was recorded in the 1st century BC on an inscription at Navalar Kulama in Panama Pattu in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, the first description of the capture of elephants in 40 AD is by Pliny by means of the information gathered from Sinhalese ambassador to the court of Emperor Claudius. Exports of Elephants to Kalinga was reported by Ptolemy in 175 AD.