It is not easy to look after these gentle giants, but it is interesting," said Viharavasi Ven Dr Kirinda Assaji Thera. "They eat up at least 90 coconut branches a day. Quite demanding eh?" he exclaimed as he moved back from the door and sat himself.
The Podi Haamuduruwo, the Chief Incumbent of Hunupitiye Gangaramaya Viharavasi Dr Assaji Thera The venerable monk did not mean to say that it was difficult to look after elephants. He was excited at the sight of the elephant that was gaily eating without any care for those who passed by.
It was a proud stance taken by the sated elephant to announce his importance. The monk was just being cheerful about it. He knew for sure that the elephant can eat hundred pounds of vegetation on any given day without mercy. The temple would care that it gets its fill to its heart's content. The temple was happy to make the provision.
On the contrary it was not the only elephant that is being looked after by the Temple. There are 65 elephants that need to be majestically fed and kept in high spirit. Not only that before long they have to be adorned in choicest of jewelled clothes made of silver and gold embroideries for they must be made ready for the most important pageant that will take them to the streets of Colombo.
The monk smiled. "We had the largest Perahara in 1980 where 160 elephants paraded through the city. This a record elephant train in any pageant hitherto held in the history of pageants world over," he reflected.
"Good, huge animals! Never did any of them get distracted during the procession," he admired. "So very well behaved yet needing permits to go from one place to another," he laughed.
How about this time?
"No, they will not be stupid. Podi Haamuduruwo has told them how to behave in the perahera. They know he means what he says," the Thera replied as he arranged the folds of his robe. This is the atmosphere at the Gangaramaya Temple as it is getting ready to hold the country's much celebrated and honoured Buddhist pageants in the cultural calendar, the Navam Perahera.
The perahera will take to the streets of Colombo on February 6 and 7 bringing to life the age-old traditions cultural art forms unique to Sri Lankan. It has been a crowd puller for both local and international tourists over the years.
Podi Haamuduruwo
Podi Haamuduruwo, the Chief Incumbent of the Ganagaramaya Temple, Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thera has made it a habit these days to visit the elephants that will take part in the perahera. He would feed the animals with his own hands. About a week ago he was extremely cheery with the animals. Now that the perahera is near he is passing instructions to the animals how they should behave in the perahera.
I will eat more than 90 coconut branches later! The temple’s elephant is still too young to consume 100 pounds of vegetation as would his elders. He is being tended by his keeper Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage
he elephants shrink their bodies in an unsuccessful attempt to look smaller than they really are in the presence of Podi Haamuduruwo. They level their ears and lower their heads as Podi Haamuduruwo speaks. This is how they demonstrate their utter respect to Podi Haamuduruwo.
In other respects, the mammoths likes to be petted by him during the conversation.
The touch of Podi Haamuduruwo sure to have restored confidence in them ahead of the grand event they must participate. May as well, they want to feel important before devotees and Dayakas who walk past them to the Temple.
Be they, owners of elephants or mahouts, politicians or businessmen, doctors or engineers, they would all obey Podi Haamuduruwo's word of mouth without any difference.
Podi Haamuduruwo holds the halls of power to organize the pageant. He administers every activity in the temple.
He makes sure that every dancer, flautist, drummer, whip cracker, stilt walker, flag bearer, acrobat, clown and mahout, who will perform in the pageant, is served well and aright. He makes certain that they attend their duties for the pageant. He ensures that cultural dancers practising outside the precincts of the temple get their food and drink, and payments on time. He looks after anyone and everyone who takes part in the perahera.
Beacon of cultural preservation
The beginning of Gangarama Temple's Navam Perahera dates back to 1979. In fact, if not for the temple's able leadership and welfare activities, cultural performing arts in Sri Lanka would have been a thing of the past. There is so much going on within the walls of the temple to preserve the country's cultural heritage of traditional arts, crafts and talents. The temple has been protecting and nurturing cultural artistes with a multitude of funding programs to benefit them. The Temple's efforts to protect traditional performing artistes, has contributed to sustaining the age-old traditions of Sinhala folk dance styles, such as ves dance (mask dance), naiyandi dance, udekki dance, pantheru dance (tambourine dance) and vannams of the hill country tradition (udarata natum), and indigenous provincial styles of Sabaragamuwa and Pahatharata traditions.
The sage Ganithlankara's eighteen vannam and adapted dance forms and kohomba yakuma or kohomba kankariya would have been long lost to us if not for the support given by the temple to move forward these traditions through pageants in the likes of Navam Perahera organized by the Ganagaramaya Temple. The sounds of traditional drums, geta bera, yak bera and davula still stands to reverberate in the air to make a strong statement about their presence to this day.
The pageant
It is in this setting the Navam Perahera has been held unimpaired for 120 years by the temple to boast of the country's cultural heritage of performing arts and Buddhist traditions. The perahera will feature all these items plus the real guests of honour of the perahera, the elephants adorned in jewel-studded silver and gold clothes, carrying the holy relics of the Buddha, as it turn the streets of Colombo to a festival of light and colour under the Navam full moon.
The perahera is held to invoke blessings of the Triple Gems on the country and its people. It turns the year's wheels to celebrate the eminence of sacred relics of the Buddha and the appointment of the Buddha's right- and left-hand disciples Sariputta and Moggallana as the first and second chief disciples that had taken place in April (Navam).
The perahera legacy this year will be intensified with the momentous occasion of carrying of the Buddha's sacred hair relics, which was brought to the Temple by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following his recent visit to a temple in Chittagong, Bangladesh, where he was bestowed with the relics to commemorate the 2600th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations.
A significant feature of this vibrant pageant is the procession of Bhikkus. About 500 bhikkus will parade the forthcoming Navam Perahera. This is the only perahera that has the largest number of Buddhist monks from across the country.
At the forefront of the perahera, as in any Buddhist pageant there will be whip crackers, whipping all the way from the start to the end of perahara's chosen path.
"The whip crackers clear the path of the perahera for the others to perform on the way. Their chore is to ensure that the path is clear, the fire acrobats are also used for the same purpose and also to light up the area," said Ven Assaji Thera.
"The perahera performances have been arranged in such a way that it allows freedom of movement to its performers to engage in their assigned acts.
As pointed out by Ven Dr Assaji Thera, the concept of perahera existed even before the time of the Buddha. When the mother of the Buddha, Queen Maha Maya Devi was being taken to her parental home in Devadaha in a pageant. After the baby - Prince Siddhartha being born in the flower garden of Lumbini Park, they were taken home in a procession from Lumbini.
The perahera culture in Sri Lanka is primarily to invoke blessings of the triple gem on people irrespective of their race or religion, he explained.
Preparations
Before long the elephants participating in the pageant will be bathed in pirith pan (purified water prepared after reciting powerful discourses of the Buddha). This takes place before the pageant to protect the animals from possible harm during the event.
Meanwhile, the temple's monks conduct Seth Pirith Sajjayana (reciting of sacred Buddhist discourses) for seven days at the Seema Maalaka of the temple, the quaint structure aloft the Beira Lake. The ceremony is held to bestow blessings on the perahera and the people.
The pirith chanting is to obtain a successful start, a middle and an end to the perahera as is Buddha's teachings, which is excellent in the beginning, in the middle and at the end, said Ven Dr Assaji Thera.
Social welfare
Viharavasi Ven Dr Assaji Thera outlined the temple's welfare activities associated with the pageant thus: "At times the temple will give away funds to a mahout to raise the roof of his house. Another time the temple would distribute gold coins among the perahera artistes."
"Last time we gave away gold coins prohibiting the sale of them on the instructions of Podihaamuduruwo. We gave the coins so that they will be given to their daughters in times of marriage as such."
"If they wanted to take part in the perahera the forthcoming year, we made it mandatory for them to produce the coin before us, to be eligible."
"Sometimes we call for their wives and hand over the payments to them. This is in the case of some perahera artistes with records of drinking liquor. Their families are waiting for them to bring the money.
Their men waste every cent of them indulging in liquor much to the distress of their wives and children. We listen to their problems. It is important that the money is used for the welfare of their families."
These are some of the issues which the temple deals with in the aftermath of the procession.
However so, nothing escapes the attention of Podi Haamuduruwo. He keeps a close eye on everyone. He knows them and their mannerisms so well.
Arranging glittering beads, golden lace and silver threads on elephant costumes before the Perahara. They will bedressed from tusks to tails in rich clothes of gold and silver
"Sometimes we don't hand over payments to leaders of the dance troupes in order to avoid any misappropriation of funds. We distribute money to every individual performer upon returning to the temple after the perahera," said the monk.
"This is all a part of the management process. The performers sometimes come to the temple seeking help to build their partially constructed houses. We help them as the case may be," he added.
The temple gives away sewing machines to families of cultural dancers, drummers and flutists in the perahera to improve their living conditions. I will also give books and stationeries to their children. Nobody leaves the temple empty handed.
This has been the policy of Gangaramaya Nayaka Theras since its inception as a humble temple that emerged on what a swampy land found near the Beira Lake in 1885. People came to visit the temple via boats at the time.
The Gangaramaya has been a beacon of strength to move forward Sri Lankan culture. The temple's Navam Maha Perahera bears evidence to its glory.
Moves
Thousands of performing artistes, including dancers of Sabaragamuwa, Uda Rata and Pahatha Rata traditions, drummers, flutists, whip crackers, fire dancers are currently training and practicing their moves as you read this article. They are devoted to the task.
It has to be mentioned here that it is not only Buddhist dayakas who contribute donations to this great event in the city. There are many non-Buddhist donors who generously contribute to it with a lot of enthusiasm.
Rains
Many times, the perahera have invoked rains from heavens. Especially when the country was suffering from drought conditions, said Ven Assaji Thera.
It is due to the change made by the Perahera. "It could be due to the atmospheric change it brings with the sounds of drums or fire as some would like to believe it. Either way the change is created by perahera," he explained.
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