Tour Guide, Kandy, Sri Lanka
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Kandy Perahara started during the reign King Megavanna , (301 - 331 A.D.) who decreed that the that the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha should be taken out of it's gilded shrine inside Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), and paraded around the city so that the public could pay their respects. Today this perahara, held for two weeks in August as the biggest street procession in the world. Dozens of caparisoned elephants, Kandyan dancers, acrobats, fire dancers and assorted Buddhist groups (and some Hindus) accompanied by guys wheeling handcarts of coconut oil to keep the home fires burning, all parade around Kandy city centre for several hours. One of the elephants allegedly carries one of the Buddha’s teeth in a gold casket. There’s lots of chanting and drumming and traditional Kandyan dance.