By Risidra Mendis
Kandyan dancers, drummers, acrobats, flame dancers, whip dancers, and colourfully dressed elephants are just a few of the attractions that draw people in the thousands to Kandy, to witness the historic and religious Dalada Maligawa perahera.
The Dalada Maligawa Perahera is held in August every year with its main attraction being the many colouful elephants that take part in the procession. However what most people who come in the thousands fail to understand is the cruelty imposed on some of these elephants at the hands of their mahouts while taking part in the perahera.
As part of the ceremony the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha is paraded through the streets in a casket in order to invoke the blessing of rain from the gods. The sacred relic casket is placed on a majestic Maligawa tusker, and is followed by hundreds of other elephants and tuskers.
But witnesses at last year’s perahera have revealed that some of the baby elephants had their legs tied close to each other with nylon cords when taken in the procession.
Environmentalists claim that these baby elephants’ legs were tied close together because they were illegally caught from the wild and were not trained to participate in a perahera.
Questions have also being raised by Animal Welfare activists as to why the veterinary surgeon in charge of checking the health of these animals allowed them to be taken in the perahera.
Wildlife Expert and former Deputy Director Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC)
Dr Nandana Atapattu told Ceylon Today that if baby elephants were taken in the perahera with their legs tied with nylon cords that is cruelty imposed on the animals.
“It is a crime if these baby elephants are taken in the perahera in such conditions because the nylon cord can cut into their skin and cause serious wounds. The veterinary surgeon in charge of checking the status of the elephants before they participate in the perahera should have instructed the mahouts to replace the nylon cords with ropes or to refrain from taking them in the perahera. If an elephant is sick or in musth, it cannot be taken in the perahera. Similarly if the animal’s legs are cross chained it cannot be taken in the perahera. An elephant cannot be taken in the perahera if all four legs of the animal are chained or two legs are chained,” Dr Atapattu said.
Head of Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Peradeniya Dr Ashoka Dangolla said both hind legs of the elephant have to be tied when being taken in a perahera.
“We are promoting the use of loose chains and nylon straps that don’t cut into the skin of the animal. However elephants can run amok during a perahera as they are wild animals and get stressed when they see crowds, flares and the sound of drums. At last year’s Dalada Maligawa perahera four elephants got excited and had to be brought under control,” Dr Dangolla explained.
He added that one elephant refused to take a turn and when the mahout was trying to persuade the animal to turn it got agitated and this resulted in the three elephants behind him getting excited.
Dalada Maligawa Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela when contacted by Ceylon Today denied that baby elephants were taken in the perahera with their legs tied with nylon cords.
“All the elephants taken in the perahera were legal animals and had valid permits. These elephants’ legs have to be tied when they are taken in the procession for safety reasons even though animal welfare activists see this method as cruelty to the animals. If an elephant gets out of control when going in the procession we have to be able to control the animal,” Dela said.
“Taking elephants in the perahera is based on the country’s religious and cultural aspect. Even though Lord Buddha has being associated with elephants, nowhere in history has it being mentioned that Lord Buddha rode on the back of an elephant. However the sacred tooth relic is carried on the back of a tusker,” Dr Atapattu explained.
The first perahera was held in Anuradhapura and is a ritual believed to date back to the 3rd century BCE. However, due to invasions at the time, the tooth relic was shifted from Anuradhapura and found a permanent home at the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth). The Temple of the Tooth is Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist shrine, which has housed the Sacred Tooth Relic since the 16th Century.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today