srilanka Festival

FESTIVALS

Lighting the Wesak Lanterns

Similar to Christmas for the Christians, celebrating the birth of Christ, Wesak for the Buddhists heralds the birth of Prince Siddhartha, who eventually attained Buddhahood as Gauthama Buddha. Wesak day is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar.  All over the country, temples, in the villages, and in the cities, announce the dawn of Wesak, with peals of bells, and drum beats. The devout, clad in pure white, with no make-up or jewelry, make their way to the temple, to spend the next twenty four hours in quiet contemplation. No solid food in taken after mid-day meal, for this day, the holiest of days in the Buddhist calender, one is there to rid the mind of impure thoughts, and the body of impure habits. (Observe Sil). While the rest of the village, gather at the temple grounds after sunset to participate in lesser religious activities, like reading of holy books, or listen to the saffron clad monk relate ancient stories from Lord Buddha's previous lives. ( listen to Bana ).
Simple candle-lit lanterns like these, that seem to fascinate these youngsters, made with bamboo frames and covered with colored transparent paper adorn every house, for Wesak, is a muted celebration as well. Over two-and-a-half thousand years ago in northern India, Gautama was born, attained Enlightenment, and passed away, on   the day of the month, separated by some 80 years and Buddhists all over the world celebrate the three events on Wesak day.




 
 

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A Wesak Lantern

 
Perhaps originally Wesak was observed purely as a religious festival whereby the obervers gathered merit for the benefit of their current life or the future life. But with the growth of commerce, many large businesses in cities like Colombo saw the commercial possibilities of Wesak, similar to how the businesses in the west embraced Christmas. Sending of Wesak cards to friends and business associates has become the done thing, during the month of May. Shops selling large and small lanterns, candles, and various electric lighting sets, and papers of any imaginable color abound. Many of the bigger companies pay other small companies to make large Wesak lanterns like these in the hope of attracting prospective customers, and they do come .... Traffic in the streets leading to more popular sites, bad during normal days becomes impossible during the Wesak Holidays.
This Wesak lantern, elaborate and several tiers high, could have cost the sponsor quite a large sum of money, but that would be offset with the extra sales !!!.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Kavadi Dancers at Katharagama

Hinduism has been part and parcel of Sri Lankan life for many undereds of years. Over the years, popular Buddhism has absorbed a number of Hindu customs together with a galaxy of local gods. There is hardly any Sinhalese Buddhist who can deny of his or her reverence to one or two of Hindu gods or deities.  The awesome of these deities is the god Skandha or Katharagama whose shrine is in the deep south. Katharagama is a terrifying figure, and he exacts a heavy price from those whose petitions He grants. Those who have been cured of grave illnesses, or whose prayers for children have been answered, must redeem their vows with an offering of pain. Sometimes they have to walk across burning coals, but the most common penitence is to be dragged around the streets swinging from a bar to which they are attached by savage iron hooks struck into the flesh of their backs.
 

	Kandy Esala (July/august) Perahera is a spectacle not to be missed by any visitor to Sri Lanka.  When you are an aspiring young Kandyan dancer, one of your dreams is to dance at the Kandy Perahara. These youngsters, dressed for the part in their finery, certainly seem eager and ready for it. Until recently classical Kandyan dancing has been an art that has been handed down from father to son. This goes back to the days of the Caste system, where if you are born to the caste of the dancers, you invariably ended up being a dancer. But with the breakdown of the caste system, dancing has become more widespread and open to anybody who has the talent for it. To read more about Kandy and Kandy Perehara click here: Kandy
	The ceremonious and auspicious exposition of the Tooth Relic of the Buddha at the annual pageantry of the Kandy Esala Perahera is an event of national importance in the Buddhist calendar. The Diyawadana Nilame or the civilian Chief of the Temple of the Tooth is the custodian of the most sacred Tooth Relic. It is a historic belief that the Tooth Relic is symbolic of the national sovereignty. If the nation loses the ownership or the custodianship of the Tooth Relic, it signifies that the Buddhist Sinhalese majority have lost their, nationhood, sovereignty and independance. The Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate the Tooth Relic as the pinnacle of their devotion and dedication. Any harm, threat or terror towards this relic is viewed with great anger and protest as was evidenced when there was a recent terrorist attack on the Temple of the Tooth complex.
The Tooth Relic of the Buddha in its golden casket, being ceremoniously escorted by the Diyawadana Nilame, for parading in the Kandy Esala Perahera.