Sri Lanka: Esala Perahera Festival 2012 in the Sacred City of Kandy

When I booked my flights to Sri Lanka late last year, I hadn't the slightest clue that the dates I had selected were during Esala Perahera 2012 in the Sacred City of Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Esaha Perahera is the grandest Buddhist procession of Sri Lanka where the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha is displayed and brought around Kandy in several nightly processions in July and August with much pomp and pageantry.

The procession during the first night of Randoli Parahera lasted almost three hours with hundreds of dancers, musicians and participants, and dozens of elephants in ceremonial robes with lights. In the photo, an elephant (tusker) carries the Ransivige, a golden casket containing the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha. As it passes by, the seated crowd stands up in respect and prayer. Watch out for posts on Sri Lanka. In the meantime, check out more photos @ivanhenares in Instagram.