August 13, Colombo (LNW): The annual Kandy Esala Perahera officially got underway today (13) with the traditional Kap planting ceremony at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, signalling the start of one of Sri Lanka’s most revered cultural and religious celebrations.
The ritual was performed at the auspicious time of 6.17 a.m., setting in motion a series of religious observances that will lead to the spectacular processions scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
Following the Kap planting, the four principal devales — Natha, Vishnu, Pattini and Kataragama — will conduct their traditional internal processions for five consecutive days, from today until August 17.
The first Kumbal Perahera will then move through the streets of Kandy on August 18, with the Kumbal processions continuing each evening until August 22. The more elaborate Randoli Perahera will follow, beginning on August 23 and culminating in the grand final Randoli Perahera on August 27.
The final day of the festival, August 28, will feature the customary Diya Kepeema ceremony, followed by a daytime procession. These rituals will bring the annual series of Perahera ceremonies to a close.
Later that afternoon, the Diyawadana Nilame is expected to travel to the President’s House in Kandy to hand over the traditional Perahera epistle to the President.
The presentation of the epistle is a long-established concluding tradition and will formally mark the end of this year’s Kandy Esala Perahera, which is expected to draw large crowds of devotees, visitors and tourists to the hill capital.
