Kandy Esala Perahera is a spectacular Buddhist festival in Sri Lanka, considers one of the grandest pageants in the whole of Asia. This great procession is organized by the Temple of Tooth in Kandy, in order to honor the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. Adorned with colorful traditional dancers and lavishly decorated elephants, this is the most beautiful cultural event in Sri Lanka. Definitely, the gorgeous traditional dances in Kandy Esala Perahera is a completely worthy sight to witness. This festival holds between July and August for ten days while different processions carry out through this period.
Esala Perahera is well known for its traditional dances, which come to life with colorful costumes and rhythmic music. This procession is featuring different kinds of traditional Sri Lankan dances. Above all, the Kandyan dance plays an important role as one of the most beautiful events in Esala Perahera. Thus, this procession is the best place to witness the lovely traditional Sri Lankan dances.
Here we are going to introduce you to traditional Sri Lankan dances that you can see in Kandy Esala Perahera.
1. Fireball Dance
The fireball dance plays an important role at the beginning of the procession. They drive the darkness of the night away, enlightening the proceeding performers. This dance known as ‘Pandam Paliya’ symbolizes the glow of lighting. Fireball dance is a quite attractive sight and wonderfully entertaining dance item in the procession.
These dancers are playing with balls of fire. The team performs amazing dances that involve a lot of acrobatic movements. Since the dancers are spinning fireballs at high speed, it is visible as circles of fire. The perahera festival decorates with the different fire patterns created by the fireball dancers. Dancers use their hands, legs, and head to spin fireballs. Certainly, this dance offers an eye-catching view for everyone who is watching.
You may witness even small children below 10 years of age performing in Perahera. These little fire dancers display a lot of bravery, strength, and practice. Fireball dancers continue to captivate visitors given the performance’s risk as well as beauty. Without a doubt, all the spectators thrill to see this dancing event.
2. Thalam Dance
Thalam dance performs with a small musical instrument call as thalampata. Although this is a small instrument, the thalampata plays a crucial role in Sri Lankan dance. There are two small cymbals joined together with a string. It can beat out complex rhythms in traditional Kandyan dance.
The thalampata typically makes two sounds, which chime with the shake of the dancer’s body. Thalam dancers will add a unique rhythm to the parade and a beautifully choreographed dance.
3. Coconut Flower Dance
Coconut flower dancers perform with coconut flowers in their hands. They will engage in a beautiful traditional dance whilst singing. According to traditional Sri Lankan beliefs, the coconut flower is a symbol of prosperity. Since the purpose of Esala Perahera is to wish prosperity to the country, these coconut flower dancers denote it.
4. Naiyandi Dance
Dancers in Naiyandi costumes perform the initial Kandyan dances of the Perahera festival before the traditional Ves dance begins. Therefore, the first Kandyan dance item you’ll see in the procession is Naiyandi Dance. It is a classical form of Kandyan dance, performed on ceremonial occasions. There are several groups of Naiyandi dancers in Kandy Esala Perahera.
Naiyandi dancers have the same costume as Kandyan dancers, except for the headdress. They wear white turbans instead of the funky headgear of the Ves dancer. Dancers wear white pleated garments and elegant accessories. The Naiyandi dancer’s chest is covered with rows of bead chains. Their neck ornament is made out of beautiful beads. Besides these, they wear a waistband, long silver chains, and ear-stud pendants. Moreover, the dancers wear shoulder bands, jingling bells, and anklets.
This is a beautiful dance with graceful movements. It includes both wide steps and narrow steps. The leg positions are rapidly changing during the dance and the gaps between the two legs become close and wide. You’ll see the dancing movements become stronger and more energetic in the last part of the dance. Surely, this is a quite interesting dancing item in Esala Perahera.
5. Tambourine Dance
Tambourine Dance is a unique, traditional dance performed with a small tambourine placed on the top of a curved thin stick. This is a quite entertaining, traditional folk dance. They hold a long flexible stick in one hand and a tambourine is spinning on it. They rotate the tambourine in a circular motion on top of the stick, using their hand.
Some dancers can spin several tambourines at the same time. Definitely, these dancers are quite skilled to perform this magnificent dance. Tambourine dancers are showing the talent they have developed over the years of training. Certainly, tambourine dance is one of the top traditional dances in Kandy Esala Perahera.
6. Chamara Dance
Chamara dancers perform a beautiful dance with the yak tails they hold. They symbolically fan the Sacred Tooth Relic during the Esala Perahera. These dancers show gratitude towards the spectators for coming to watch the parade through their dance.
7. Pantheru Dance
Pantheru dance is another form of Kandyan dance. These dancers carry an instrument called Pantheruwa. It is an instrument that resembles a tambourine without the skin. Pantheruwa is decorated with small cymbals that are attached at regular intervals. It is turned and twirled while changing from one hand to another hand. Pantheruwa makes a lovely jingling sound during the dancing movement.
This dance was used to celebrate victories on the battlefield. Pantheru dancers wear light costumes than the Kandyan dancers. They don’t wear a beaded jacket or headdress. They wear a white pleated garment and substitute the black silk handkerchief at the waist for elaborate frills in Kandyan dancers.
8. Udekki Dance
The Udekki dance is a very prestigious performance. Its name comes from the Udekki, a small lacquered hand drum in the shape of an hourglass, about 18 cm high. It is believed to have been given to people by the gods and considers a very difficult instrument to play.
The Udekki dancer sings while playing this small drum, tightening the strings to obtain variations of pitch. They perform according to the rhythm of the drummers. Since the playing of this drum has to be mastered, Udekki dance is performed only by hereditary artists.
9. Ves Dance
Ves dance is an important symbol of Sri Lankan heritage and the iconic sight of Kandy Esala Perahera. These dancers usually wear lavishly decorated attire with glowing ornaments and jewelry. It is performed by Sri Lankan males and their costume is totally elaborate and glamorous. Their gorgeous headgear symbolizes the sun’s rays. The intricately costumed Ves dancers epitomize Kandyan dance, which highlights Sri Lankan culture in the world.
This popular dance originated from an ancient purification ritual known as the Kohomba kankariya. Ves dance is performed for the deity Kohomba. Particularly their headgear is considered sacred and believed to belong to the deity. Ves dancers wear elegant white costumes and accessories. They have beadwork decorations on the chest, a waistband, rows of beads around his neck, silver chains, shoulder plates, anklets, and jingles.
Ves dance initiates with slow, rhythmic movements and finally finishes with a more energetic, rapid dance. As the rhythm of the drum changes, Ves dancers perform acrobatic movements. Finally, they show jaw-dropping movements with the drumbeat from professional drummers. Their great dancing performance gives an eye-pleasing view to the spectators.
10. Sawaran Dance
Sawaran dance is performed with two sticks in hands with a bunch of crape attached to both ends of the sticks. It calls as the sawaran which is quite similar to the one chamara dancers hold in their hands.
11. Folk Dance
Sri Lanka boasts of various kinds of folk dances. In Esala Perahera, there are events with mixed folk dances. It contains a combination of several traditional dances of Sri Lanka. They differ from each other based on the costume, rhythm, and body movements. Mixed folk dances will be presented in the middle of the parade. They will use multiple instruments to create a beautiful dance with fascinating music.
12. Kavadi Dance
At the end of the main parade, four other parades devoted to four gods are conducted. The four processions are done for God Natha, God Vishnu, God Kataragama, and Goddess Pattini. The Kataragama Devale procession includes the Kavadi dance. These dancers carry a semicircular feathered contraption on their shoulders.
Kavadi Dancers in Esala Perahera are Hindu performers who are invited to participate in the Buddhist Esala Perahera. Although Esala Perahera is a Buddhist festival, other religious devotees can perform in the procession. Thus, this procession is an important cultural event that helps to keep religious harmony in Sri Lanka.
The peacock dance is quite attractive one, performed by male dancers with colorful costumes. The dancers wear a beautiful ornament studded with peacock feathers. This is one of the most attractive dance items in Kandy Esala Perahera.
13. Female Pantheru Dance
You’ll see that women have limited participation in the entire event of Kandy Esala Perahera. The procession of Pattini Devale is the only part that features Sri Lankan female dancers. This final procession dedicates to the goddess Pattini is where women allow to perform in the Perahera festival.
The female Pantheru dancers honor the goddess Pattini. The dancers carry the instrument called Pantheruwa. Since Pantheruwa is connected to the worship of gods, this dance is performed exclusively for paying respect to the goddess Pattini.
14. Female Kandyan Dance
Female Kandyan dance is one of the most attractive dancing items of Esala Perahera. Since Kandyan dance was originally performed by males, women weren’t trained as Kandyan dancers. Later, Sri Lankan women also got the chance to learn Kandyan dancing. However, there is no definitive costume or headdress for women. Therefore, female dancers have adapted the male costume in different ways.
Female Kandyan dancers have beautiful red and white costumes and headdresses. Their headgear is different from male Kandyan dancers. Their dancing movements are elegant and graceful. These dancers enhance the beauty of Kandy Esala Perahera a lot. Definitely, this is one of the most interesting items in the procession.
15. Female Chamara Dance
Similar to the male Chamara dance, females perform with two sticks in their hands with yak tails attached to the end of the sticks. Their costume is quite colorful with red, yellow, and golden colors.
16. Female Folk Dance
Female folk dancers use multiple instruments to create a beautiful dance. Some dancers use winnowing fans, while some dancers carry clay pots. Their costume, rhythm, and body movements show farming activities.
To sum up, we have bought you the traditional dances in Kandy Esala Perahera. As this is one of the most colorful processions in the world, it is a completely worthy sight to witness in Sri Lanka. The drumbeat, music, and amazing dances are all captivating. The Final Randoli Perahera is a must-watch if you are planning to visit Kandy during the festival period. Welcome guys, enjoy the beautiful traditional dances in Kandy Esala Perahera!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Kandy Esala Perahera official website. All copyrights are reserved by original authors.
