Bellanwila
Decorated tuskers, drummers, dancers, trumpeters and the lantern bearers of the Kandy Esala Perahera enchanted the entire country last week. An event of similar grandeur as the Kandy Perehara, the annual Bellanwila Esala Perahera will parade the streets this week in grand scale in the surrounding area of the Bellanwila temple.
South of Colombo about 15 kilometers from the city is the Bellanwila Purana Rajamaha Viharaya bordered by the Attidiya bird sanctuary. Hundreds visit the viharaya every day. There is a custom among Buddhists in the western province, when a new baby is born, he or she is taken to Bellanwila Temple and blessed under the sacred Bo tree. Buddhists believe that the Bellanwila Bo tree’s blessings are very potent.
History
History of the Bellanwila temple also begins with this sacred Bo tree in the middle of the temple, surrounded by small devalas dedicated to different gods.
In the dawn of 19th century, canals were the most reliable method of transport. Thengodagedara hamuduruwo, founder of the Maligawatta Purana Viharaya, Attidiya was traveling in a boat down the canal Katu Ela on his way to Kotte. He heard a distant sound of hevisi from the jungle. The Thera knew that there were no temples nearby and sensed something special about it. He followed the sound of the hevisi and after sometime, he found a Bo tree, in which wild animals had taken refuge. This was the Bellanwila Bo tree, which was one of the historical Bo saplings planted during the regime of King Devanampiyatissa.
This discovery of the Bellanwila Bo tree is the reason the viharaya is there today, receiving high degree of care and devotion from people all over the country. Today anyone who visits the temple never leaves without bathing the roots of the Bo tree wishing for good luck.The Sinhala Bodhivamsaya records that one of the 32 saplings (Dethis pala ruha bodhi) that grew from the Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura was planted at Bellanwila during King Devanampiyatissa’s time.
“Written history of the temple is incomplete. Information about the temple in some eras is completely missing. Maybe they were destroyed at the time of foreign invasions,” the Chief incumbent of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara Ven Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera explained.
Bellanwila is also mentioned in literary works of Kotte period, during which time Buddhism rose to great heights with the patronage of King Parakramabahu VI. During this period Bellanwila was cast in the shadow of Sunethradevi Pirivena, a shrine built by King Parakramabahu VI to train young Buddhist monks. Both Benllanwila and Pepiliyana during this regime appeared to have remained a single unit.Late s17thcentury brought darkness back to Bellanwila. It was deserted following the invasion of the Portuguese until Thengodagedara hamuduruwo rediscovered it.
Architect
“According to legends that Thengodagedara hamuduruwo had heard, he decided that this must be Bellanwila. A new generation of monks was made responsible for the betterment of Bellanwila from that day onwards,” said Wimalarathana Thera. Since then, Bellanwila had a succession of chief incumbents from Ven. Udugampola Sri Ratanapala, Udugampola Sri Dammakkhandha, Abhidhammika Weboda Sri Sangharatana, Asgiriya Devarakkhita, Bellanwila Sri Somaratana, Ven Dr. Bellanwila Dhammaratana Nayaka Thera to Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera. “It is Bellanwila Sri Somaratana hamuduruwo who must be given credit for raising Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara to its present state of glory,” Wimalarathna Thera recalled with gratitude.Bellanwila Sri Somaratana thera saw the possibility of developing the temple into a major place of worship. “He is the one who built all these dharmashala, relic chamber and Devala premises,” Wimalarathna Thera informed. “He was the architect of the modern Bellanwila Vihara,” he added.
Perahera
The Bellanwila Esala Perahera festival including the grand Esala Maha Perahera was also an idea of the late Somaratana Nayaka Thera. The first Perahera was held in August 1950. Today, the Elasa pinkam commence with a memorial bana program followed by a day and night Pirith chanting ceremony and a Sangika Dana. According to ancient customs and traditions, the recital of the Dorakada Asna, the Devadutha and Kumbal Peraheras take place respectively. Then a series of Mal Perahera parade the streets for four days. This will be followed by the Pavada Perahera, the Ransivili and the final Randoli Perahera. Concluding the pinkam series, the ‘Water Cutting’ ceremony (Diya Kapeema) will be held at the Boralesgamuwa thotopola and the offering of alms to the deities.
Wimalarathna Thera said that all the expenses of the perahera ceremony are borne by the devotees and donors. “The temple does not ask for financial funds from the government. Yet, we appreciate the services of the security forces and the road maintenance,” he said. “There are a large number of devotees who contribute each year. They all are behind the success of the ceremony,” he added.
Wimalathna thera also mentioned that the expenses have risen since the first perahera. “Let’s say we had to spend one million rupees for the perahera 10 to 15 years ago. Now it has become seven or eight million. Charges of the services are all comparatively very high,” he said. Bellanwila perahera is a pageant which exhibiting cultural diversity. It includes dance events from Udarata, Pahatharata and Sabaragamu traditions. “It basically has all the traditions without exception. It provides a platform to performing artistes from all parts of the country. But we choose only what is suitable for Buddha Pooja,” Wimalarathna Thera exclaimed. “We also allow women to participate in the Perahera. Some people say it is not good to have women participate in such an event. But if women are allowed in other places, why should we make perehara a taboo for them,” he pointed out.
Elephants
A major problem which the perahera organizing committee has to deal with is finding tuskers and elephants for the perahera. “Keeping elephants is a huge expense today. So it is very expensive to hire an elephant too. Most of all it is hard to find trained elephants. There are only a few tamed elephants in the country,” Wimalarathna Thera lamented. “In 1960 there were 105 elephants in the perahera. We cannot have that number today. The country is developed since then yet the elephants welfare wasn’t taken into account,” he added. He also said that in the early days, when elephants were used for manual work, owners sent them free of charge for the perahera just to get the blessings for the animal.
Like ‘Raja’ in Kandy perahera, there was ‘Chandra’ in Bellanwila perahera. “Chandra was one of the greatest tuskers we had. Somaratana Nayaka hamuduruwo brought Chandra to the temple in 1965. Chandra was a legend who was bestowed the honor of carrying relics in the Kelani perahera and Kotte perahera as well,” Wimalarathna Thera informed. After Chandra now there is a new tusker gifted from Myanmar to the Bellanwila temple. “He is still a baby. It will take few more years to train him to carry the relics,” Wimlarathna Thera said.
The perahera pooja is parading the streets for the 63rd time this year. The grand finale of the pinkam ceremony, compromised with over 50 troops of selected dancers, Randoli Perahera will parade the streets on August 30 and 31. The Chief incumbent Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera is determined to stage the ceremony to the best of their ability as he believes that this is one of the best opportunities they have to pay homage to the Buddha and as well as to their guru, late Bellanwila Somaratana Thera.
Decorated tuskers, drummers, dancers, trumpeters and the lantern bearers of the Kandy Esala Perahera enchanted the entire country last week. An event of similar grandeur as the Kandy Perehara, the annual Bellanwila Esala Perahera will parade the streets this week in grand scale in the surrounding area of the Bellanwila temple.
South of Colombo about 15 kilometers from the city is the Bellanwila Purana Rajamaha Viharaya bordered by the Attidiya bird sanctuary. Hundreds visit the viharaya every day. There is a custom among Buddhists in the western province, when a new baby is born, he or she is taken to Bellanwila Temple and blessed under the sacred Bo tree. Buddhists believe that the Bellanwila Bo tree’s blessings are very potent.
History
History of the Bellanwila temple also begins with this sacred Bo tree in the middle of the temple, surrounded by small devalas dedicated to different gods.
In the dawn of 19th century, canals were the most reliable method of transport. Thengodagedara hamuduruwo, founder of the Maligawatta Purana Viharaya, Attidiya was traveling in a boat down the canal Katu Ela on his way to Kotte. He heard a distant sound of hevisi from the jungle. The Thera knew that there were no temples nearby and sensed something special about it. He followed the sound of the hevisi and after sometime, he found a Bo tree, in which wild animals had taken refuge. This was the Bellanwila Bo tree, which was one of the historical Bo saplings planted during the regime of King Devanampiyatissa.
This discovery of the Bellanwila Bo tree is the reason the viharaya is there today, receiving high degree of care and devotion from people all over the country. Today anyone who visits the temple never leaves without bathing the roots of the Bo tree wishing for good luck.The Sinhala Bodhivamsaya records that one of the 32 saplings (Dethis pala ruha bodhi) that grew from the Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura was planted at Bellanwila during King Devanampiyatissa’s time.
“Written history of the temple is incomplete. Information about the temple in some eras is completely missing. Maybe they were destroyed at the time of foreign invasions,” the Chief incumbent of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara Ven Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera explained.
Bellanwila is also mentioned in literary works of Kotte period, during which time Buddhism rose to great heights with the patronage of King Parakramabahu VI. During this period Bellanwila was cast in the shadow of Sunethradevi Pirivena, a shrine built by King Parakramabahu VI to train young Buddhist monks. Both Benllanwila and Pepiliyana during this regime appeared to have remained a single unit.Late s17thcentury brought darkness back to Bellanwila. It was deserted following the invasion of the Portuguese until Thengodagedara hamuduruwo rediscovered it.
Architect
“According to legends that Thengodagedara hamuduruwo had heard, he decided that this must be Bellanwila. A new generation of monks was made responsible for the betterment of Bellanwila from that day onwards,” said Wimalarathana Thera. Since then, Bellanwila had a succession of chief incumbents from Ven. Udugampola Sri Ratanapala, Udugampola Sri Dammakkhandha, Abhidhammika Weboda Sri Sangharatana, Asgiriya Devarakkhita, Bellanwila Sri Somaratana, Ven Dr. Bellanwila Dhammaratana Nayaka Thera to Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera. “It is Bellanwila Sri Somaratana hamuduruwo who must be given credit for raising Bellanwila Rajamaha Vihara to its present state of glory,” Wimalarathna Thera recalled with gratitude.Bellanwila Sri Somaratana thera saw the possibility of developing the temple into a major place of worship. “He is the one who built all these dharmashala, relic chamber and Devala premises,” Wimalarathna Thera informed. “He was the architect of the modern Bellanwila Vihara,” he added.
Perahera
The Bellanwila Esala Perahera festival including the grand Esala Maha Perahera was also an idea of the late Somaratana Nayaka Thera. The first Perahera was held in August 1950. Today, the Elasa pinkam commence with a memorial bana program followed by a day and night Pirith chanting ceremony and a Sangika Dana. According to ancient customs and traditions, the recital of the Dorakada Asna, the Devadutha and Kumbal Peraheras take place respectively. Then a series of Mal Perahera parade the streets for four days. This will be followed by the Pavada Perahera, the Ransivili and the final Randoli Perahera. Concluding the pinkam series, the ‘Water Cutting’ ceremony (Diya Kapeema) will be held at the Boralesgamuwa thotopola and the offering of alms to the deities.
Wimalarathna Thera said that all the expenses of the perahera ceremony are borne by the devotees and donors. “The temple does not ask for financial funds from the government. Yet, we appreciate the services of the security forces and the road maintenance,” he said. “There are a large number of devotees who contribute each year. They all are behind the success of the ceremony,” he added.
Wimalathna thera also mentioned that the expenses have risen since the first perahera. “Let’s say we had to spend one million rupees for the perahera 10 to 15 years ago. Now it has become seven or eight million. Charges of the services are all comparatively very high,” he said. Bellanwila perahera is a pageant which exhibiting cultural diversity. It includes dance events from Udarata, Pahatharata and Sabaragamu traditions. “It basically has all the traditions without exception. It provides a platform to performing artistes from all parts of the country. But we choose only what is suitable for Buddha Pooja,” Wimalarathna Thera exclaimed. “We also allow women to participate in the Perahera. Some people say it is not good to have women participate in such an event. But if women are allowed in other places, why should we make perehara a taboo for them,” he pointed out.
Elephants
A major problem which the perahera organizing committee has to deal with is finding tuskers and elephants for the perahera. “Keeping elephants is a huge expense today. So it is very expensive to hire an elephant too. Most of all it is hard to find trained elephants. There are only a few tamed elephants in the country,” Wimalarathna Thera lamented. “In 1960 there were 105 elephants in the perahera. We cannot have that number today. The country is developed since then yet the elephants welfare wasn’t taken into account,” he added. He also said that in the early days, when elephants were used for manual work, owners sent them free of charge for the perahera just to get the blessings for the animal.
Like ‘Raja’ in Kandy perahera, there was ‘Chandra’ in Bellanwila perahera. “Chandra was one of the greatest tuskers we had. Somaratana Nayaka hamuduruwo brought Chandra to the temple in 1965. Chandra was a legend who was bestowed the honor of carrying relics in the Kelani perahera and Kotte perahera as well,” Wimalarathna Thera informed. After Chandra now there is a new tusker gifted from Myanmar to the Bellanwila temple. “He is still a baby. It will take few more years to train him to carry the relics,” Wimlarathna Thera said.
The perahera pooja is parading the streets for the 63rd time this year. The grand finale of the pinkam ceremony, compromised with over 50 troops of selected dancers, Randoli Perahera will parade the streets on August 30 and 31. The Chief incumbent Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera is determined to stage the ceremony to the best of their ability as he believes that this is one of the best opportunities they have to pay homage to the Buddha and as well as to their guru, late Bellanwila Somaratana Thera.
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| Pics by Chandana Wijesinghe |
Published in The Nation on August 26, 2013
Link : http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/20347-pageant-of-cultural-diversity.html
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