The Festival Schedule of the Kandy Esala Perahera
When considering the festival schedule ,the exact timing of the Esala Perahera varies from year to year.And, This grand festival lasts for ten days while various festivities can be witnessed right throughout.
Generally, Esala Perahera begins with Kap Situveema or Kapa, in which a blessed young jackfruit tree is cut and planted on the premises of each of the four Devales (shrines) which are dedicated to the four guardian gods called Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and the goddess Pattini.For the next four nights, the "Internal Perahera of Four Devales" take place within the premises of the four Devales.
The Kubal Perahera is the start the processions through town. At the start of the Kubal Perahera, the Devale Perahera assemble in front of the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Their insignias are placed on the ransivige escorted by the Basnayake Nilames who called as the lay custodians of the Devales.
And, Devales parade starts with the Natha Devale. Second, Vishnu Devale which is dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu come next. The third is the Kataragama Devale which is dedicated to the God of Kataragama. This parade includes various dances such as Kavadi, the peacock dance. The forth and final parade is from the Pattini Devale which is dedicated to the goddess Pattini who is associated with the cure of infectious diseases and is called upon in times of drought and famine. This is very special because it is the only parade that has women dancers. It is believed that the pageants of the four Devales were added to the main perahera during the era of the Nayakkar kings who had their origins in the Hindu tradition. On this special occation, the Diyawadana Nilame who dressed in his traditional Kandyan costume and elaborate jewelary is followed by the Basnayaka Nilames, the lay custodians of the four Devales.
Next day, on the 6th night starts the most elaborated procession called Randoli Perahera after five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to palanquins on which the Queens of the ruling Kings traditionally traveled. The speciality of this Randoli perahera is the relic casket is not made of silver but of gold.
And, the last two nights of the Randoli Perahera are the grandest because Diya Kepeema and the Day Perahera follow the five nights of the Randoli Perahera. The festival ends with the water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Gatembe.This is called as“Diya Kepeema”.Likewise, the grand festival which is called as festival of the tooth held proudly over ten days in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
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