Due to the fact that there are not enough domesticated elephants in the country at present, there are severe difficulties in conducting Perahera festivals, Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela said while presenting the Perahera Memorandum to the President on Tuesday.
He said that these difficulties can be mitigated if the government intervenes to provide elephants to Devalayas, historical temples and experienced elephant owners.
He said that elephants can be introduced as one of the main reasons for improving the elegance and majesty of the Esala Perahera in Kandy and that the number of domesticated elephants is not enough.
Presenting the Perahera memorandum at the closing ceremony of the Perahera, held at the Presidential Palace in Kandy under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday the Diyawadana Nilame said the number of tame elephants is decreasing year by year.
“Great difficulties have to be faced in procuring elephants for the Perahera festivals.If a sufficient number of elephants can be provided as tame elephants to Devalayas, temples and experienced elephant owners through the intervention of the government, this difficulty can be avoided.
The religious and cultural extravagance of the annual Dalada Esala Perahera festival which pays homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic, lies in the upcountry singing and dancing traditions that express the nation’s prowess. A powerful contribution to preserve and nurture these arts and crafts came from the teachers of upcountry expert artistes. He added that a tendency can be seen that the young children of expert artistes turn to other jobs deviating from this noble tradition.
He said that training school has been started to provide training to budding artistes with the help of experienced artistes in the upcountry with an objective of continuing the Perahera tradition.
It is clear that the Perahera festival can be held in the future without the problems of procuring artistes. The students who are trained here are already contributing to the Kandy Esala Perahera festival by dancing. It is clear that the Esala Perahera Festival can be maintained without the problems of providing artistes in the future by offering government recognised degree courses and preserving these ancient arts so that young art students can gain economic benefits.
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