Kandy Perahera Photos
people waiting for the day Perahera (see full size). Full Gallery on Flickr, or Slideshow
These are some photos I took from the Kandy Perahera. I am normally bored by parades or processions, but this was really quite something. I have also seen some lackluster Kandyan Dancers at weddings, but these were quite incredible. The whole parade is lit by glowing hot torches and the sound of whips and tons of synchronized drummers. It is quite a sensory experience, and I’d recommend it to anyone. We watched from the Queen’s Hotel seats, which were excellent, and surprisingly available 10 days before. The procession is really a feudal thing with Buddhism tacked on – one of the elephants carries the casket that carries the Buddha’s tooth. There is also a Hindu component in that one of the last temples contributing proceeders are from a Hindu area. Here are some photos.
day Perahera
… happens
the last night is the best Perahera, though photos came out worse
… let us tack on Buddhism to an ancient feudal ritual. Full Gallery
I am jealous! Random question- what camera do you use?
it’s listed next to the photos on Flickr. It’s a Minolta Dimage XT. Costs about $300. I don’t really recommend it, it’s crap for nightime and low-light. Like 80% of my Perahera photos were useless. I just like it cause it’s tiny and I can carry it all the time.
The photos look decent cause I did some simple optimization in Picasa. I just click ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ and it cleans up most photos for me.
What is really carried by the Maligawa tusker is the casket that encloses the tooth relic, not the tooth relic itself. It is not accurate to say that the one of the processions is from a temple in a Hindu area. The Perahera is actually five processions combined: the first from the Temple of the Tooth; the second from the Natha Devalaya (a bodhisatva or a Buddha to be); the third from the Vishnu Devalaya (clearly a Hindu god); the fourth from the Kataragama Devalaya (again Hindu; and the one that has the most participation by Tamil devotees) and the last from the Pattini Devalaya (a goddess particularly beloved by the Sinhalese; this is the only procession that has women dancers). All the temples are located in Kandy, within a stone’s throw from the main temple.
Or, as the nice old man next to me helpfully explained, “we Buddhists all know there’s one god. The other people in the procession, those are PEOPLE, Natha, Kataragama, Pattini. They are just very holy and wise people, so we honor them like we honor Lord Buddha.” He then quizzed me on my beliefs.
Indi, did you count the elephants on the last night? I heard 150, but wasn’t counting properly.
“we Buddhists all know there’s one god” !!!… wow.. now aint THAT an oxymoron…
Quite impressive Rohan! Keep up the good work
It would be very difficult to take the casket on Perahera without the tooth relic, don’t you think so? It’s actually a totally different casket that does not contain the tooth relic.
great photos!!
love ur pics!!!!
As a budhdhists we do not belive in gods. God can do noting. If a god made this world he is like a boy thet playing playstation. But as a Sri lankan it doesnet matter. Tamil sinhalese are not two nationalities coming from same routine. So it is a Sri lankan festival that we can show what is sri lanka all about.
[...] is also the season for the Perahera in Kandy. This is a parade with elephants dressed up and lots of fire. It is basically the coolest [...]