Perahera with a difference

The much-awaited annual Navam Perahera – the cultural pageant in the city – takes to the streets on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 February



By D.C. Ranatunga

Hundreds of monks clad in saffron robes with the traditional ‘vatāpatha’ in their hands marching solemnly in a most orderly fashion is a rare sight anywhere in Sri Lanka. This is the most distinct and innovative feature in the Navam Perahera – the colourful cultural pageant parading the roads in the vicinity of Gangaramaya in Hunupitiya every year in February.

Sri Lanka’s Perahera Calendar starts with the Navam Perahera. It coincides with the Navam Poya – the full moon day when Buddha accepted Arahants Sariputta and Moggallana as his chief disciples. Both Arahants were renowned for their proficiencies – Arahant Saripuuta for his profound learning and wisdom (pragna) and Arahat Moggallana for his exceptional spiritual powers (iddhi).

Podi Hāmuduruwo – as Galaboda Gnanissara Nayaka Thera is known to everyone – is the brains behind the Navam Perahera. He thought about a procession when he saw that although we boast about our culture, there was no worthwhile cultural event in the city.

He saw an opportunity for the city folk as well as those in the suburbs of Colombo to view a perahera with all items traditionally attached to it. Foreigners attached to diplomatic missions in Colombo and those employed elsewhere and the tourists could also get a taste of Sri Lankan culture.

Podi Hāmuduruwo always acts with determination. He was confident that he would be able to organise a perahera second to none. This was well over three decades ago – in 1979. Since then the perahera has been held every year except on just one occasion. That was when the LTTE bombed the Central Bank in spreading a veil of sorrow throughout the country. Podi Hāmuduruwo decided to donate the million rupees he would have spent on the Perahera to the National Defence Fund.

Fundamentally, the Perahera pays homage to the ‘Tisarana’ – the Three Refuges – Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Each would be represented in the Perahera. Buddha’s relics are carried in a casket symbolising the presence of the Buddha. Texts containing what the Buddha had preached are taken in the Perahera representing the Dhamma. The monks represent the Maha Sangha.

Podi Hāmuduruwo remembers how there was a heavy downpour on the very first evening when he planned to hold the Perahera. “Everyone thought we will never be able to start the Perahera. It was raining so hard. But I was confident the rains would stop. I appealed to the devas to see that the Perahera was not disrupted. Rains stopped – at least in the Hunupitiya area,” Podi Hāmuduruwo once recollected when I met him.

The Navam Perahera is an elaborate cultural pageant with numerous artistic creations picked from various parts of the country. Apart from the large number of monks marching on the procession route, 50 torch-bearers carrying ‘pandam eli,’  young flag-bearers clad in white national dress in batches of 50 carrying Buddhist flags, national flags and provincial flags, dancers and drummers in traditional garb and caparisoned elephants form part of the procession, which comprise nearly 150 items of cultural significance.

The hallmark of the Navam Perahera is Podi Hāmuduruwo’s meticulous planning. He personally does it and insists that the organisers maintain a strict time schedule. Clockwork precision is the uniqueness of the event. He also maintains strict discipline among the artistes who participate in the Perahera.

Alcohol is taboo and there was an instance when he sent a leading dancer home when he caught him smelling of liquor. It was a good lesson for everyone and the victim himself gave up drinking and reported back to Podi Hāmuduruwo, apologising for what he did.

The elephant takes a prominent place in any procession, with around 75 elephants taking part in the Navam Perahera. They are brought from different parts of the country a couple of days earlier and fed and looked after until they are taken back the day after the Perahera.

The dancers represent the numerous forms of dance ranging from ‘udarata netum’ – Kandyan dances in the hill country – to the ‘ruhunu netum’ – dances of the South. The vast array of dances varies in their form and style and the dancers perform throughout the procession clad in colourful costumes. They keep to the rhythm of the drummers who are also in traditional dress.

The procession activities are held at auspicious times, starting as dusk falls. The relic casket with the relics of the Buddha would be handed over by the chief monk to the lay custodian of the temple, who then takes charge of it to be carried on the back of the gaily-decorated senior elephant. For the elephant it is an honour and privilege. The elephant is flanked by two other elephants, keeping him company on either side.  Seating arrangements are made to view the procession from vantage points along the route. The Beira Lake provides an ideal backdrop to leisurely enjoy this unique cultural event held in the heart of the city.                       

– Pix by Sarath Perera