{"id":118754,"date":"2021-09-30T17:05:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T00:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=118754"},"modified":"2021-09-30T17:05:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T00:05:47","slug":"the-elephant-in-sri-lanka-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/09\/30\/the-elephant-in-sri-lanka-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ELEPHANT IN SRI LANKA Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Dhanesh Wisumperuma\nhas researched into Religious Use of\nElephants in Ancient Sri Lanka (Gajah 37 (2012) 16-21)<\/em>. He provides\nthe following information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants\nwere first used in Buddhist ceremonial processions, to receive and transport Buddhist\nrelics from one place to another.  King\nDevanampiyatissa   used the state\nelephant to carry   relics to be\nenshrined in the Thuparama. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parakramabahu I went\nmounted on his favorite beautiful elephant\u201d, to receive the Tooth and Bowl\nrelics when they were brought back from the south where they had been sent for\nsafety during the Chola  wars.  Other elephants as well as horses were also\npart of this event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\naddition to relics, the    Pujavaliya (13 century) was also taken in\nprocession on the back of the royal elephant, to show veneration, since it was\na book on Buddhist religious offerings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Mahavamsa shows that the Anuradhapura kings\nregularly had peraheras for the temples. I find it difficult to believe that elephants\nwere not a part of these, everybody else seems to have been included. But there\ndoes not seem to be any documented reference to elephants in peraheras during\nthis period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Mahathupa\nwas restored during the Polonnaruwa period, the procession included elephants illuminated with lamps. Parakramabahu II (1236-1270) held a seven day\nfestival for the Tooth Relic, for which he used many elephants and horses in\nthe procession. Vijayabahu IV (1270-1272) organized a procession to transfer\nthe Tooth and Bowl relics of the Buddha from Dambadeniya to Polonnaruwa. The\nrelics were taken on a chariot and the perahera included rows of highly caprisoned\nelephants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nMahadathika Mahanaga (7-19 AD) was the first king to donate an elephant to a\ntemple. The tradition continued thereafter. Parakramabahu IV   celebrated a festival for Tooth and Bowl\nRelics by gifting elephants, as well as other items, to the temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision\nto get a tusker to carry the Tooth relic in a procession seems to have\ndeveloped much later. Dalada Sirita (14 century) contained a manual for the\nconduct of festivals for the Tooth Relic. Dalada Sirita says for a procession\nduring public displays of the Tooth Relic, the relic must be enshrined in a\ncasket and placed on a decorated chariot, pulled by a tusked elephant with\nauspicious marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ama H. Vanniarachchy has   researched\ninto the tuskers who carried the Tooth relic at the Esala Perahera of the\nDalada Maligawa in Kandy. The Relic\nCasket is carried and paraded only on a majestic tusker, accompanied by two other\ntuskers besides him, said Ama. Out of all the tamed tuskers of the country,\nonly few are chosen as suitable enough to carry the Relic Casket. Not only\ntheir physical looks but also their personality and intelligence is considered,\nshe added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 She provides a comprehensive list of the important\ntuskers who graced the Kandy Esala Perahera with emphasis on those who    carried the relic casket in Kumbal and\nRandoli peraheras. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first\nmentioned is Maha Raja owned by Clifford Ratwatte, 13 feet in height with\nperfectly proportioned body. He carried the casket from the 1920s until 1940s. After\nMaha Raja, the   Idampitie tusker owned by the Mawanalle\nIdampitiya Walawwa carried the casket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it was the turn of Maligawe Raja.<\/strong> Raja was\ncaptured by Umeru Lebbe in 1925 under permit at Eravur. He was bought by\nMampitiye Disawe in 1925 and in 1931 was    \ngifted to the Dalada Maligawa. Raja\u2019s first Dalada Perahera was in 1937.\nHe was the leading tusker in Dalada Peraheras till 1987. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was declared\na National Treasure by President J.R. Jayewardene. Raja\u2019s picture was printed\nin the thousand rupee note and a 75 cent stamp was also released with the\npicture of Raja. This was the first time in Asia that a stamp was released in honor\nof an animal. Raja received a State funeral when he died in 1988. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wewaladeniya Raja was<\/strong> <\/strong>a majestic\ntusker captured in 1974 at Agunakolapalassa area.  He carried the casket from 1986. Heiyanthuduwe Raja<\/strong> was caught\nat Hambantota Kattakakaduwa forest in 1945. \nHe had 11 feet long tusks.  He\ncarried the Relic Casket form 1991 to 2000. His skeleton is displayed at the\nColombo National Museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millangoda Raja<\/strong> was caught\nin 1945 at, Anamaduwa area in Puttalam. Millangoda Raja owned the longest tusks\nof South Asia.  When he died, his body\nwas preserved and is now at Molagoda Millangoda Walawwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kataragama\nVasana was captured in a forest near Anuradhapura and given to the Zoo. He was\ngifted to the Kataragama Devale when he was 5 or 6 years old. He is the\nlead tusker at Kataragama Perahera and lives in Kataragama. He comes up to\nKandy for the Esala perahera in a special truck. He has carried the Relic Casket\nin several peraheras. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinha Raja,\nwhen a baby was separated from his herd, during the civil war in the North. He\nwas   found in the forests in Vavuniya by\nthe Sinha Regiment and brought to the Peradeniya Veterinary hospital for\ntreatment for his injuries. Once he was cured he was gifted to Dalada\nMaligawa. Noted for his intelligence and grandeur Sinha Raja   has carried\nthe Relic Casket at Dalada Peraheras. As at 2020, he is the sub leader of the\nelephant troop at the Dalada Maligawa in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the earliest\ntimes the Sri Lanka elephant has been depicted and glorified on temple and\npalace walls in sculptural or in painted form, said Ashley de Vos. Paintings of\nelephants, datable to the Anuradhapura period have been found at Dimbulagala and Kotiyagala. There is a painting of a\nhappy, smiling elephant at Mara vidiya cave at Dimbulagala.   https:\/\/si.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Drawing_of_an_elephant_from_Dimulagala_Mara_Vidiya.jpg<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants figure prominently in cave paintings at Miella in Kotiyagala.\nWe noticed four .One elephant is engaged in water sports, another is carrying\na lotus in its trunk. A third gives the impression it is ready to run. Lastly\nthe frontal view of a moving elephant is shown. In the middle of an intricate\nceiling design, there is also an elephant within a circle with its tail bent, reported\nthe team at Amazing Lanka.com\u201d.  https:\/\/amazinglanka.com\/wp\/en\/miella\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paintings\nperish, but, there are plenty of stone sculptures of elephants still remaining. https:\/\/www.alamy.com\/stock-photo\/sri-lanka-temple-elephant-carving.html<\/a>. Elephants are\nfeatured on moon stones, walls, ponds and entrances. The moonstones in\nAnuradhapura are well known.\nMoonstone from Magul Maha Vihara, Lahugala depicts a row of tamed elephants with a rope across their belly and two mahouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuous freezes of sculptured dancing elephants are a pleasure\nto behold, observed Ashley de Vos. They\ncan be seen at Ruvanveliseya. There is a row of elephants in the palace wall  in Polonnaruwa .There are several elephants\ncarved in stone at Gadaladeniya, two free standing  at the entrance and a third in the wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have all\nseen Isurumuniya\u2019s delightful bas relief carving of elephants frolicking by a\nsmall pond at the entrance. One young tusker is shown already in the water\nlooking forward to the others joining him. Ranmasu Uyana which is adjoining\nIsurumuniya also has similar frolicking elephants in one of the pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Isurumuniya has other elephant carvings. There\nis an elephant carved on the outer wall of a Korawakgala. This is a standing\ntusker with a prominent kumbasthala. It is at the entrance of a cave shrine. Also,\ntwo tuskers can be seen seated on the side of the two guard stones at this\nentrance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 HCP Bell reports a full relief rock carving of\nan elephant, on the banks of the Mahaweli River. This has now disappeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This\npiece of animal sculpture is probably unique in Ceylon. Cut in full round from\na rock, life-size, are the head and shoulders of an elephant whose feet the\nriver washed when low. The elephant stands in the water, looking slightly\nupstream, as though hesitating to cross. At present the river in semi-flood\nreaches its eyes. There are signs of ‘sets’ for some building’s foundations on\na boulder adjoining, but no ruins or inscriptions are known likely to afford a\nclue to the object of this solitary tour de force of a skilful sculptor\nconcluded Bell.” Unfortunately this rock sculpture no longer exists,\nhaving been blasted probably by fishermen dynamiting fish, said Jayantha\nJayawardena.   (Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Dhanesh Wisumperuma has researched into Religious Use of Elephants in Ancient Sri Lanka (Gajah 37 (2012) 16-21). He provides the following information. Elephants were first used in Buddhist ceremonial processions, to receive and transport Buddhist relics from one place to another.  King Devanampiyatissa   used the state elephant to carry   relics to be enshrined […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}