Each year a grand celebration is held in Sri Lanka, which marks the beginning of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist calendar. Do you know what that celebration is? It is the Duruthu Perahera. “Duruthu” is the Sinhalese term for January, while “Perahera” is the Sinhalese term for the procession. This procession is held before the Duruthu full moon poya day each year. This Perahera is also known as the “Kelani Perahera”, as it is mainly centred on the Kelaniya city and its temple.
Do you know why Kelaniya is special? And why it was chosen as the centre of this procession? It is because, according to the history book of “Mahawamsa”, Lord Buddha visited Kelaniya, on his third arrival to Sri Lanka.
Do you know who Lord Buddha is? Lord Buddha is the pioneer of the Buddhist religion. He was born as the prince of Kapilavastupura, but renounced his family life and became an ascetic, teaching Buddhism to the world. As you know, Buddhism is the main religion of Sri Lanka and this procession is held to commemorate Lord Buddha and the Buddhist relics.
Duruthu Perahera was first held in 1927, under the leadership of Mr . Don Walter of Sedawatte Walawwa. At first, the procession had only two divisions, namely the Dhatu Perahera and the Vibhishana Devala Perahera.
Later in 1930 and 1954, two more divisions were added to the procession. One was in the honour of Lord Vishnu, while the other was in the honour of Skandha Kumar, the patron deity of Kataragama. At present, the collection of these divisions is known as the Duruthu Perahera.
Duruthu Perahera is divided into three segments:
Udamaluwa Perahera, Pahata Maluwa Perahera and Randoli Perahera. On the first day of the Perahera, only the Dhatu Perahera is conducted and that too with less colour and celebration. Each day the colour of the Perahera increases, but the grandest of them all is the Randoli Perahera.
Each day a cannon is boomed symbolizing the commencement of the Perahera. Some important individuals taking part in this celebration are Basnayake Nilame, Dayaka Sabha and Viharadhipathi Thero. Thousands of devotees around the country, as well as tourists come to see this celebration.
Traditional dancers, drummers, whip crackers and fireball performers enlighten this procession using their talent. Smartly dressed bearers carry the colourful flags of Korala and Disa’s. “Korala” is the Sinhalese term for the district, while “Disa” is the Sinhalese term for the province. Sri Lankans value this Perahera a lot because it is a showcase of their traditions, customs, arts, beliefs and devotion.
The Perahera comes to an end with the closing ceremony, by paying homage to god Vibhishana for granting his blessings upon the Perahera. Today with my head hanging high, I can say that I am proud to be a Sri Lankan.
By
Sanduni Jayawardena
