I hope you are all well. Today I am going to share with you about a perahera festival, which is a cultural aspect of the Buddhist people. The peraheras begin to be held in September.

This perahera, as a great cultural heritage, will consist of various social and artistic elements related to buddhism. And it will cost a lot of money. Several major peraheras are held in our country, which are the Kandy Esala Maha Perahera, Seenigama Devol Perahera, Katugastota Kanda Swarnagiri Perahera, Nuwara Eliya Navam Maha Perahera, and Devandara Maha Perahera.

In addition, peraheras are also held in various areas based on temples and shrines. Today I am going to talk about one such perahera. A temple in our village took the initiative to hold this. Although this was not a famous perahera, the perahera was very attractive. The procession was held on the night of the 21st of this month.

The basic elements of a procession are the carrying of the relic casket containing the relics of the Buddha. So, in any procession, a special elephant king is used to carry the relic casket. So, the elephant carrying the relic casket is not an ordinary elephant. Even though he was an animal, he was a tame one. An elephant without tamed cannot carry this casket. Before carrying the casket on its back, the elephant king offers flowers and bows to the statue of the Buddha. That is its homage to the Buddha. We know that there are many animals, like humans, who are devoted to religion and the Dhamma. So, the elephant carrying this relic casket is also such an animal.

---

This elephant is adorned with beautiful cloth and garlands of small bulbs. He carries the casket with great solemnity. Its serene gait captivates the eyes of those who see it.

A procession consists of several different elements, most of which are dances. The image below shows a group of boys performing a fireworks dance.

Since this is a night procession, such a fire dance will really help to dispel the darkness of the night. This dance is a unique feature of the procession. This picture shows a group of boys dancing in a very skillful manner. This dance element is the most liked by the audience. They present various artistic movement patterns beautifully.

Another important part of the procession is the procession of chariots carrying the idols of Kataragama, Vishnu, Maha Kali and Patthini. The main purpose of this is to represent the four great temples. The above is the chariot procession of the Kataragama temple carrying the magnificent idol of the Kataragama god.

These features are not only seen in Buddhist processions but also in Hindu processions. So, regardless of religion, people do not forget to show respect to the gods, worship them, and perform pujas for them.

---

It was not possible to take pictures of the entire procession. Also, although the procession consisted of several different dances, the road was so crowded that it was impossible to take pictures of the dances. Therefore, I had to limit this article to a few pictures.

The village people sponsor the peraheras held in these villages. The peraheras are held in a grand manner with the donations given by the villagers. So the people are very willing to give money for such peraheras. All the peraheras that were to be held this year have now been held. So, the next perahera will have to be seen next year.

---

🌼Thanks for reading🌼

---