Kandy Esala Perahera paraded with grandeur…
August 5, 2020
Captured by: Shan Fernando
The annual Kandy Esala Perahera, the historical procession to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, concluded on the 4th of August, following the Water Cutting (Diya Kepeema) Ceremony followed by the Day Perahera.
Marking the outset of the festival, the ceremony of planting Kap’ took place on the 21st of July. Kandy Esala Perahera begins with the ‘Kap Situveema’ or ‘Kappa’, in which a sanctified young Jackfruit tree is cut and planted in the premises of each of the four Devales dedicated to the four guardian gods Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama and the goddess Pattini.
Then the Kumbal Perahera, which marks first procession of the Sacred Tooth Relic, paraded from the 25th to 29th of July.
Parading of the Randoli Perahera began on the 30th of July and was carried out for a total of four days until the Maha Randoli Perahera, the grandest of all processions, on the 3rd of August.
This year, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Kandy Esala Perahera was held in a low-key manner, without the participation of spectators.
