Kataragama Epe 04
කදිරගාමර් | KADIRAGAMAR | கதிரகாமர்
Kataragama Perahera
The Kataragama Esala Festival, which is an aesthetic spectacle that embodies the essence of Hela culture with historical significance, enthralls people from home and abroad with the inspiration of Hela culture regardless of race, religion, or caste. The Kataragama Perahera is initiated by God Kataragama. The Kataragama Perahara is a special festival that is closely tied to the religious sentiments and cultural traditions of many people in Sri Lanka. The Sri Skanda Kumara Kataragama Temple in Kataragama is known as a place of worship with a history full of reverence to offer offerings to the gods. The Perahara, a major event of the Kataragama Puja season, has become a revered place for Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims alike. The Kataragama Perahera is one of the most important cultural events in the history and culture of Sri Lanka. The procession is associated with Kataragama town, Kataragama temple located there, and recognized Kataragama deities, patrons of all religions. As such, Kataragama processions are a form of communication developed from Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, and Muslim religious retreats.
The history of Kataragama processions has been traced back thousands of years to the events that followed a Mahayatra. The Kataragama temple is considered to be an important place for Sastroka Poojas. It is believed that this procession has been held here for at least 2000 years. It has been held in harmony with various religious pilgrimage traditions for a long time. During the reign of King Dutugemunu, this Perahara festival is believed to have started after the king dedicated the temple to Kataragama God. Twelve-armed and six-faced, Lord Kataragama is known as Skanda or Murugen by the Tamils and as Lord Kataragama, the guardian of the Buddha statue by the Sinhalese. Elephants must meet the qualifications and receive training for this. Hastiadeva received abhishes to create more ornaments and idols.
The Kataragama Perahera festival is primarily performed ritually, and cup planting is done based on auspiciousness. This gives some idea to the people about conducting the Perahara, which is the most basic part of the Perahara Mangal. Cups are symbolically planted before the procession feasts. It is performed every year at the end of the Uttarayana summer season. Forty-five days after that is the Paves season, and the Perahera begins during the Dakshinayana season when the Mithuna Ravi is full.
1) Ilmaha feast
2) Asala feast
3) The annual festival.
Kataragama Perahara is one of the religious functions of ancient Sri Lanka and is said to be the constitution of religious rituals or traditional rituals of the temple full of lotus flowers. In Perehara, it tries to bring a difference to each individual form by bringing unique dance rules, dance, and instrumental techniques. It is here that Beravadas and religious drama concepts are presented as peranamkara aesthetic elements. The Kataragama processions mainly consist of various puja acts like wearing Thaipongal and court lamps to the Kataragama deity, announcing Baka Mahessala, and wearing Karawila candles. This is an ancient pilgrimage ceremony conducted in a traditional way. In a perehara, a constitution of pererakaru and bogakars and their religious devotion takes center stage. It is spoken with the belief that by going on pilgrimage and making offerings, the safety and happiness of the gods will benefit society and families. This has become a famous place in the Pujakala traditions of Sri Lanka. Because the Kataragama Perahara is a sacred religious event, it affects the local people and politically on matters closest to religious sentiments. Religious leaders and the faithful are intricately dictated by the propositions and practices of this movement.
The Kataragama Perahera is understood as a good strategy for religious peace and unity in Sri Lanka because of the way many people gather there. The way shown through this panorama demonstrates the unity of the people of different religions. As the Kataragama temple is recognized as an important place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists, religious diversity is evident when looking at the Kataragama processions.
The Kataragama Perahera is performed with the grand conductor, traditional dance, singing and musical techniques with a royal theme. It harmoniously showcases the old Sinhala Mahayalika style and the latest singing styles. Konos, Ranavel are not only Sri Lankan music played slowly, but a wide offering is made through instrumental communication.
Hastiraja as a colorful element in the procession attracts everyone's attention and Vasana Hastiraja is the main elephant of the Kataragama procession. The hasthiyaga is decorated in a colorful way, and ornaments are used for this purpose. During the New Year festival, the garden chair is decorated with the color of the auspicious planet. During the Asala festival, the procession goes to Kirivehera, so it is decorated with a yellow shawl. The ornaments worn by the elephant vary from festival to festival, and these ornaments were offered by King Dabaranin during the reign of King Dutugemunu. Leaders of Nilames add various cultural elements to the procession from time to time and clean the route with turmeric before the start of the procession. The guardians who were entrusted with every duty were traditional. Basnayake Nilam, who is dressed in all the clothes, first bows down to God and receives blessings.
Pradhan Kapu is also a main part of the procession, and the floor is decorated with blood-colored feet, baited with peacocks, and after worshiping the deity, the deity is taken away. Then in the decorated round chair, the deity is placed. After that, after the kirivehera rituals of Gana Deva, Basnayake Nilame will come to the front of the procession and invite the deity to be the leader of the procession. Adivasis are involved in this procession and the historical story associated with Valiamma provides the origin for this. This procession festival is beautifully shaped with many dance traditions. Among the elements of the procession, the temple dance based on Madhushanthikarma can be seen and this implies the relationship between the God of Kataragama and the god of the temple. The Prathini dance, which is a colorful dance form, attracts everyone's attention, and is related to the Madhushanthikarma of the Low Country dance and the Pahanmadu Santikarma of the Sabaragamuwa dance. The Giri Devi dance depicts the Kolam dance tradition of lowland dance. The Valiga Patuna dance depicts aspects of Huniyam Shantikarma. Also, many dances such as Thel Me Salupaliya Garayak Natuma, which are the lowland dance elements, create a mind-blowing scene in the Kataragama Perahera, displaying the history. On the first half moon day, Perehara marches along Rajaveedia to Kirivehera, marking the end of the historic wedding ceremony. After that, the procession is considered to have been successfully completed by performing the water-cutting ceremony. The Kataragama Peraheras are an opportune occasion that makes a special contribution to Sri Lanka's reconciliation, elimination of religious hatred, and social development. Because of this, Kataragama parades can be called a living source of our culture.
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