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Lecture 1: Kashmir

Lecture 2: Sri Lanka

Lecture 3: M. Pradesh

Sri Lanka Lecture Sections:

Choose one... Sri Lanka Lecture Home Introduction and History Mahavamsa Irrigation and Artificial Lakes Fishing Village at Galle Anuradhapura and King Deva-Nampiya-Tissa Dagobas and Bodhi Shrines King Walagam Bahu and the Dambulla Caves King Kassapa and Sigiriya The Sigiriya Frescoes Parakrama Bahu I and Polonnaruwa Elephant Sightings in Sri Lanka Kandy, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Kandyan Traditional Dance The Perahera Festival at Kandy - Preparations The Perahera Festival at Kandy - Part II The Perahera Festival at Kandy - Finale

Mary B. Wheeler's Sri Lanka lecture ends with an extraordinary finale - rare, but meticulous footage of the elaborate Perahera festival. During this festival, the Sacred Tooth relic is ritually removed from its permanent home in the depths of the temple, and temporarily installed in a howdah upon the back of Raja, the elephant. Raja then processes through the streets of Kandy, accompanied by important officials, musicians, and ritualists, providing the anxiously awaiting crowd with a glimpse of the holy relic. This festival provides an important interface between the clergy and lay worshippers, and serves as a reification of the temple's sacred and administrative centrality in the region around Kandy. Mary B. Wheeler's coverage is comprehensive, consisting of nearly seventy slides. As a result, we have included them on three succeeding pages, in order to minimize download time. We begin with the preparations leading up to the procession...

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