Sri Lanka: Esala Perahera procession by night, Kandy, 1841.

The Esala Perahera or ‘Festival of the Tooth’ held annually in Kandy is believed to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected ‘Perahera’ (Processions), The Esala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th Century AD.

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