{"id":118905,"date":"2021-10-05T16:55:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T23:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=118905"},"modified":"2021-10-05T16:55:43","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T23:55:43","slug":"the-elephant-in-sri-lanka-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/10\/05\/the-elephant-in-sri-lanka-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ELEPHANT IN SRI LANKA Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The elephant features prominently in the annual Perahera conducted by Buddhist temples all over the island. The biggest perahera is the Esala perahera conducted by the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. Well over a hundred elephants used to participate in this Perahera. . There are similar Peraheras in many provincial towns, during Esala. However, some have only one elephant participating, observed Jayantha Jayewardene. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peraheras\nother than the Kandy perahera are also gaining in popularity and length. There\nis the Duruthu\nPerahera   conducted by the\nKelaniya Rajamaha vihara, and Bellanwila perahera at Bellanwila Raja Maha\nVihara in Boralesgamuwa. Bellanwila started as a small perahera in 1947 but has\nnow developed into a major perahera.  In\nColombo, Navam Perahera, of Gangaramaya Colombo, has enlarged in size\nand popularity since it started in the 1970s, and\nis now a tourist attraction as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombo also\nhas Walukarama perahera which had started in 1967 apparently,   and the much younger Sri Sambodhi vihara\nperahera started in 2009. The Walukarama perahera of 2015\nhad 30 elephants, 500 dancers, performing Udarata, low country and\nSabaragamuwa styles and a dance troupe of school children. The perahera went\nalong Walukarama Road, Galle Road, Liberty Plaza roundabout and back through\nDuplication Road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nperaheras have been deeply resented by the non-Buddhists from colonial times. The\nBuddhist \u2013Catholic riots at Kotahena in 1883 and the Sinhala \u2013Muslim riots of 1915\nstarted by objecting to the noise of the drums as the Buddhist perahera passed\na church and a mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modern day\nanti-perahera sentiments came out into the open during Yahapalana rule.  In 2016 Prasadini Nanayakkara, a journalist,\nwrote on the plight of the Perahera elephant in Sri Lanka. She said that these\nperahera elephants, grandly dressed, were actually captive elephants that silently\nunderwent much stress during the perahera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the\nfestive season, they are transported across long distances to pageant sites and\nare often deprived of rest or sleep, said Prasadini. They are kept tethered or\nconfined for long periods of time, sometimes without adequate food and water in\norder to keep them from defecating or urinating on the streets during the\npageant. They are subjected to massive crowds, loud noises, and sometimes even\nfire, all of which are very stressful for elephants. The repetitive\nhead-bobbing that elephants often do during these festivals is a sign of\ntrauma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prasadini\nquotes Dr. Deepani Jayantha, veterinarian and country representative of\nElemotion Foundation, a US-based nonprofit that works to improve the life of\nAsian elephants. In a 2014 report titled, Responsible\nElephant Tourism in Sri Lanka<\/a>,\u201d Deepani\nhas said, elephants simply shouldn\u2019t be held in captivity. Unlike\ndomesticated pets, captive elephants are essentially wild elephants in chains,\nand are genetically and behaviorally predisposed to remain wild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants\nwere draught animals in the past and their magnificent physique earned them\nroyal recognition. Do we still need an elephant for the same purpose today, she\nasked. Continuing old-fashioned traditions is the only motivation for present\nday elephant owners.  There is a need to\nreview our traditional thinking in order to have best management measures for\ncaptive elephants, said Deepani. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepani added\nthat there is a well-organized, politically backed racket of smuggling baby\nelephants from the wild. [The media recently] said there are about 20 such\nabducted animals secretly kept in and around Colombo, she concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing will happen\nto Buddhism if there are no elephants in the perahera. The elephant is not an\nobject of worship. Nothing will happen to the perahera either. The spectators\ndo not come to see elephants. They come to support the perahera, worship\nrelics, and enjoy the outing. The perahera has other attractions such as\ndancing, drumming, juggling, kasa karayas, the tubby nilames and so on to\nprovide both entertainment and dignity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tooth\nRelic can be taken in a chariot as it was done in the Anuradhapura period. The\nMihindu Perahera at Poson, which takes place in many towns, big and small, does\nnot have any elephants at all.  It\nconsists mainly of children carrying flowers, flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016,\naction was taken to damage the peraheras. The provisions of the Fauna and Flora\nProtection Ordinance were used to keep adult elephants   out of the perahera. From 2009, all\nelephants had to be registered under the Department of Wildlife Conservation.\nThose who had elephants legally in their possession got their elephants registered\nbut most didn\u2019t, as they did not have the information needed. Also, there seems to have been some barrier\nto registration in the Act itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the\nFauna and Flora Protection Ordinance the Wildlife Department started arresting non-registered\nelephants from temples.  They also arrested\nregistered temple elephants used for other purposes such as tourism. Temples\nmust ensure that elephants are only being used for religious purposes, the Department\nsaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to\nthis in 2016 there were less elephants available for the peraheras.    Sambodhi Vihara, Colombo said it could not hold their perahera, in\nMay 2016, because elephants trained for the perahera were in the custody of the\nWildlife Department. They had been seized, because they did not have the\nnecessary permits.. But these are not \u2018hora ali\u2019 the vihara said. These elephants\nhave ownership permits and registration but the Wildlife Department had not\nissued permits for 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Diyawadana Nilame said in July\n2016 that around 20 of the elephants used in the Esala Perahera in 2015 were\nnow in court custody due to permit issues. There were 105 elephants in the\nEsala perahera in 2015, but there will only be 71 for 2016 perahera. Of the 132\ndomesticated elephants in the island, 52 cannot take part in the procession due\nto various reasons, such as, illness, musth, aggressiveness or other problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, Diyawadana Nilame again said that only about 65 tamed\nelephants and tuskers were available. They were with their owners.  But that was not sufficient to meet the\nrequirements of the Esala Perahera in 2017. If\nthis continues, the Kandy Perahera will have to be held without elephants.  The Kandy\nPerahera is a major tourist attraction as well. \nIf it goes down in standard, the whole tourist industry and its jobs\nwill suffer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basnayake Nilame of Kataragama devale said in 2017 that around 45\nperahera elephants were now in custody in elephant orphanages.  38 tamed elephants are at Pinnawela and Uda\nWalawe pending investigations by state authorities said another. The figures differ but the complaint is the\nsame. There aren\u2019t enough elephants for the perahera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is  there is a dearth of\nelephants for the peraheras  today,\nwhen  till now there have been sufficient\nelephants, brought from different parts of the country for the Esala Perahera\nin Kandy, Gangarama Perahera, the Bellanwila Perahera and so on, asked\nobservers.  Usually each Perahera is held\nat a different time, but in 2017 the dates for Esala Perahera, Kataragama and Devundara\ncoincide replied the authorities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2017, the Basnayake Nilames of devales urged the\ngovernment, to release 38 tamed elephants presently held in state orphanages,\nsince this would affect the annual Esala Perahera of principal devales.  They pointed out that around 40 elephants each\nare needed for the Kandy and Kataragama peraheras, but only around 30 tamed\nelephants were available in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 2017 lawyers\npresented to court, letters from the Diyawadana Nilame and the Basnayake\nNilames of the four Devales, asking   that elephants in custody be temporarily\nreleased for the Esala Perahera. Colombo Magistrate ordered the release of 15\nelephants for the Kandy Sri Dalada Perahera and several other peraheras.  The release order was from July 27 to August\n15. Each elephant was to be released on a bond of Rs. 30 million. President\nSirisena had also directed the Wild Life Department to release the elephants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

but there had been a delay in carrying out this order. Senior\nState Counsel, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General has raised\nobjections to the release of the elephants on bond.  so did several civil society organizations. The elephants have not been released, complained Sambodhi vihara. Some\nofficials and interest groups were objecting to the release, the temples said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it was the turn of the baby elephants.\nFrom\n2009, all elephant calves had to be registered with the Department of Wildlife\nConservation under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.    Elephant births had to be reported within\nseven days. Some had not followed these regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those\ncharged in 2017  with having\nun-registered  baby  elephants were  Mahinda, \nGotabhaya, Namal and Gaandhanee Rajapakse , Magistrate Thilina Gamage,\nPradeep Mivanapalana who was the owner of the Sri Dalada Maligawa Tusker ,\nWasana Bakers of Horana and the  \nBasnayake Nilame of Kataragama  devale,   The monks charged with holding baby  elephants without permits included  Ven.Kolonnawe Siri Sumangala  of Dewram Vehera, Pannipitiya, Uduwe\nDhammaloka Thera of Alan Methiniyaramaya, Polhengoda, Dharanagama\nKusaladhamma Thera of Sri Sambodhi Vihara ,Colombo 7 and Ven. Bellanwila Wimalaratana\nof Bellanwila Raja Maha Vihara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The   baby elephant sold to Ven. Dharanagama\nKusaladhamma  has not been properly\nregistered. The previous owner had not submitted a sworn affidavit or Grama\nNiladhari\u2019s letter. Also the elephant\u2019s height does not tally with its age and\nthe owner had not paid the registration fee either. The initial ownership and\nthe subsequent ownership were also incorrectly mentioned in the registration\nfile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wildlife\nDepartment officials had taken into custody a two and half year-old elephant\ncalf found inside the Alan Mathiniyaramaya Temple in Polhengoda in January 2016.\nVen. Uduwe Dhammaloka it is alleged had kept this calf in his temple knowing,\nthat it had been stolen.  Uduwe\nDhammaloka said the elephant calf had been left in the   temple by an unknown person.  it was probably introduced on purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uduwe\nDhammaloka was arrested and remanded in March and released on bail in June\n2016.  He was charged   under Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment)\nAct, No.22 of 2009 and Public Property Act. .19 persons have been named as\nwitnesses in the case and three documents will be presented as production items\nin the case, sources said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nYahapalana came to power, bhikkhus have been taken into custody for possessing\nelephants, the Buddhists declared angrily. The     authorities are hunting any one owning an\nelephant on the pretext of animal welfare. Their agenda is to prevent elephants\nparticipating in Buddhist ceremonies.   (continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS The elephant features prominently in the annual Perahera conducted by Buddhist temples all over the island. The biggest perahera is the Esala perahera conducted by the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. Well over a hundred elephants used to participate in this Perahera. . There are similar Peraheras in many provincial towns, during Esala. However, […]<\/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-118905","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\/118905","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=118905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}