Katharagama Festival
Katharagama Festival
The Kataragama Esala Perahera is a 15-day sacred festival held in July annually at Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya in southeastern Sri Lanka. It honors God Kataragama (also known as Skanda or Murugan), depicted with six faces and twelve hands riding a peacock. The celebration unites devotees from diverse faiths and ethnicities.
A highlight is the Pada Yatra pilgrimage, where devotees walk from Jaffna in the north to Kataragama, traversing jungles and difficult terrain with minimal provisions. The festival features spectacular rituals including firewalking, various forms of Kavadi (burden dance), and Thooku Kavadi where devotees are suspended by hooks.
The culmination is the Maha Perahera procession featuring the deity’s relic carried by a decorated elephant, accompanied by traditional dancers and drummers. The festival concludes with Diya Kepime Mangallaya (water-cutting ceremony) at the Menik River.
