Kandy Esala Perahera
Every July and August in Kandy in the highlands of Sri Lanka, a very special festival is held. At the centre of Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth, home of the Tooth Relic, the holiest relic in all of Sri Lanka as it’s supposed to be one of the teeth of Buddha himself. According to legend, it was brought to the island sometime in the fourth century and, taken care of by the Sinhalese kings, and so came to symbolise the power to rule Sri Lanka. The Chinese even sent two military expeditions to try and take it in the 13th and 15th centuries.
There are scholars that believe that the original tooth was actually taken by the Portuguese and destroyed in the 16th century, but whether or not the relic which is held in the Temple today is actually the original doesn’t strike me as being very important, because the traditions that have built up around this relic, the original or not, are simply fascinating.
Its roots go back millennia, and at least a few hundred years in its modern form. Each year, the tooth is paraded through the streets. And tonight Kandy is just getting ready for the show…
00:00 Intro
00:27 Road to Kandy
01:02 Kandy
01:36 Botanic Gardens
03:10 Temple of the Tooth
04:55 Esala Perahera
10:14 Cleaning Up
Пікірлер: 47
These videos about Sri Lanka are absolutely amazing. I am Sri Lankan and you have taught me things about the civil war, JVP and the LTTE that we never learned in school here. People, even our parents simply refuse to talk about these things. The quality is just 💯. Keep it up
Great Series on SL dude. This is probably the best docu series about SL and it's recent history. Thank you so much for this!!!
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
I would still love to visit both Sri Lanka and India. The Temple of the Tooth is a beautiful and majestic place.
love your documentary's because of the quality i have never seen a better doc about the cage during the civil war just ty for making these
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
Thank you very much for watching and especially for commenting
@simon_ghost_rilley252
7 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothman no worries appreciate your documentary
Cool video my friend!
Damn what shots were them, alex don't disappoint!
hey my guy you are back.🥰
Your series of Videos is absolutely informative I love it. I have no words to how to appreciate you.
how the heck you dont have more subscribers?
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
Still definitely improving and nice to see the channel growing slowly. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@vendo8909
7 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothmanA series in india might help
🎉🎉🎉
Nice video, would love to see this in person! Did you have the opportunity to see the Nallur Festival?
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
I did not I’m afraid, thanks for watching
@eshikaudayanawanigasekara
Ай бұрын
@@AlexRothmanWhy are you afraid...You need to discover new sri lanka on booming😊
Masterpiece of a documentary Alex, thanks. loved every single one of your documentaries ....
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Ok the fire wheel guys didn’t have to go that hard
The tooth relic of the Buddha is not paraded in the Perahara. The relics of Sariputta and Moggallana are the ones paraded during the last perahara day. They were the two chief disciples of the Buddha, often referred to as the right hand and left hand disciples of the Buddha respectively. The last time it was taken out of the palace was just before the 1818 freedom rebels started their campaign by Wariyapola Sumangala thero. His lineage started with the prince and the princess who brought the relic to the kingdom of Anuradhapura.
An early form of the perahera held in Anuradhapura during the 4th century is documented in Chinese monk Fa Xian s record.
I am guessing this is your last video about Lanka alex?
@AlexRothman
7 ай бұрын
It will be indeed, new series coming soon!
"Perehara" was started when south indian Nayakkar kings came to power
@rk-is3cw
7 ай бұрын
South Indian Nayakkar were straunch Hindus , how can they start Perehara celebration which is actually praising tooth of Buddha?
@john_____
7 ай бұрын
@@rk-is3cw actually first it was for kings walk and those south indian dancers were later brought with them from south india
@rk-is3cw
7 ай бұрын
@@john_____ But, now it's mostly procession of Tooth of Buddha and guardian dieties of Buddha like Natha, Katargama, Pattini and Upulvan.
what is your purpose of making videos about srilanka ?
6:07... who's the fatso... is he the king?
@sahanmoradeniya
5 ай бұрын
Just a representation of the King, After Brits overthrow the last king, royal dynasty ended for Sri Lanka in 1815.
#Alex_rothman-your video thumbnail is completely disrespectful ! you 're not even generous to call it as "Tooth Relic " and it is not all about "The festival of the tooth" but also a cultural event which is celebrated by generation to generation . The "Perehara" was first started as kings marching , But today we don't have a king so we celebrate it as a religious festival .
@akilavidvantha
5 ай бұрын
Are you series here 😫 shame on your knowledge of our country if you are a sri Lankan!
As a Sri Lankan who was born and raised a Sinhalese Buddhist, I am vehemently opposed to this circus.
@Man-of-Steel674
7 ай бұрын
It's a part of the culture. And whining like this you discouraged this man's effort. Do better bozo.
@nirmalsuki
7 ай бұрын
@@nesanduyaddehige9664 Sarcasm understood and appreciated, but if you look at it, it's just a circus with whip crackers, drummers, people dressed as clowns (Nilames), elephants wearing bedazzled cloths, dancers, acrobats, fire twirlers. The only difference is the religious undertone.
@openworldphotography-oz4hy
7 ай бұрын
Well if you can held a circus of cats and rabbits in your home, why can't Sri Lanka held a cultural event like this.😂
@nandunsamarasekara
7 ай бұрын
@@openworldphotography-oz4hy 😂
@nandunsamarasekara
7 ай бұрын
Bankrupted life of a Sri Lankan NPC😂