Esala Perahera: Festival of man and elephant
Every year in the month of Esala, Buddhists and tourists from around the country and the world stream into the Sri Lankan city of Kandy for the festival of Perahera.
Held to honor the Sacred Tooth of Buddha, enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth, the ten-day ceremony draws Buddhists and tourists from all over the world to Kandy's narrow, hilly streets.
The festival involves thousands of drummers recruited from the local community and hundreds of decorated elephants brought in from across the country.
Colorfully decorated from trunk to toe, one elephant known as Maligawa Tusker, which lives at the Temple of the Tooth, carries a huge canopy that shelters a replica of the casket containing the sacred tooth.
Trailed by two lines of dancers and drummers in colorful traditional customs, the animal walks on a white carpet rolled out to show respect for the sacred tooth.
Kandy Esala Perahera is the most important religious celebration in Sri Lanka. Parehara means "procession", while Esala is the name of the month in which the festival is held. This year, the festival was held from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20.
The "Sacred Tooth" is the country's most important Buddhist relic. It is said to have been brought from India in 543 BC to the same temple in which it is still kept today.
How it came to Sri Lanka is a fascinating story.
The tooth was reportedly removed from Buddha's funeral pyre following his cremation in the Indian village of Mallas, where Buddha died. Local residents initially tried to keep all of the relics for themselves.
But to prevent war, a priest arranged for the remains to be shared among various kingdoms. Thus, some of the remains were passed on to the rulers of northern India.
The last Indian ruler to possess the Sacred Tooth was king Guhasiva of Kalinga in the fourth century AD. Guhasiva's son-in- law Danta and daughter Hemamala secreted the tooth away to Sri Lanka, hiding it in the coils of princess Hemamala's hair in order to escape notice. -- Bambang Nurbianto