Maha Saman Dewalaya

Maha Saman Dewalaya - සබරගමුව මහ සමන් දේවාලය

This legendary place of worship is located in the Ratnapura district in Sabaragamuwa as the province is now known. The history of the Sabaragamu Maha Saman Devalaya could be traced back to the Kingdom of Dambadeniya, to the time of King Parakramabahu.

Maha Saman Devala Esala Perahera - 2019

President Maithripala Sirisena 2019 September 13 declared the historic Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Devala Perahera a national event.

A pageant of Culture and Rituals Maha Saman Dewalaya (Ratnapura)

The Maha Saman Devalaya Esala Perahera originates from the Sabaragamuwa district in Sri Lanka. Its purpose interweaves history, tradition and heritage that are unique to the island. Maha Saman Devalaya or the Great Saman Temple (also called Sumana Saman Devalaya) is a shrine dedicated to deity Saman, situated at Ratnapura, Sri Lanka who is the presiding deity of the Sri Pada Mountain (Adam's Peak) which is also called Samanthakuta meaning the mountain of Saman which is believed to have the left foot impression of Lord Buddha which he kept in his visit to Sri Lanka.

Sitting or standing on either side of the street people scurried to get closer as the drums and the dancing reached a frenzied pitch heralding the coming of the tusker bearing the sacred relic casket or the Dalada Karanduwa. The an­nual Esala Festival of the Sa­man De­valaya will be held with the all night Pirith chant­ing on Au­gust 29 fol­lowed by the alms­giv­ing on the fol­low­ing morn­ing. The Bas­nayake Nil­ame of the Sa­man De­valaya Mi­gara Jaya­sun­dara said the Kap plant­ing cer­e­mony would take place on Au­gust 31 fol­lowed by the Kum­bal Per­a­hera on the up­per com­pound which would last till September 04. The Weedi Per­a­hera held twice a day will com­mence on September 04, af­ter the fi­nal Kum­bal Per­a­hera, and would be held ev­ery night at 6 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. till September 08. The Weedi Per­a­hera will pa­rade the streets through Badal Weediya, Gam­pahe Weediya, Hunuwala Weediya and re­turn to the De­valaya.

The main pro­ces­sion or Maha Per­a­hera which is a com­bi­na­tion of the Dal­ada Per­a­hera, Paththini Per­a­hera, Bisodevi Per­a­hera, Ku­mara Per­a­hera and Sa­man Devi Per­a­hera will com­mence on September 09 and last until September 13. The Esala Festival will end with the wa­ter cut­ting cer­e­mony in the early hours of Au­gust 14 at the Ko­tambe ferry in Kalu­ganga.
The Bas­nayake Nil­ame said the Per­a­hera Festival in the Maha Sa­man De­valaya in Sabaraga­muwa had been held ev­ery year since 1580 AD.

Saparagrama (Sabaragamuwa) Maha Saman Devalaya is an abode that entwines folklore, history and a heritage that are unique to Sri Lanka. Come every September, the city of Ratnapura and the Devalaya holds a festive air as the Maha Saman Devala Perahera or the Esala Perahera tours the streets in all its splendour calling forth devotees around the Island to witness a pageant that brings to life the age-old traditions that have lingered on for many centuries.

Featuring five processions
Dalada Perahera, Paththini Perahera, Biso Perahera, Kumara Perahera and the Perahera of Saman Deviyo respectively—the Maha Perahera includes various dances, ancient songs and a large number of elephants and all members of the official council of the Devalaya. A sight to behold, each of the five days commence according to the relevant auspicious times with many rituals preceding the time of departure from the Devalaya.
One such ritual is to feed the elephants kavum (sweet oil cakes) and the flesh of the coconut. The kavum for this ritual is prepared by Arachchi Ammala (their respnsibilites range from cleaning the Devalaya to performing a pahan pooja, offering of lamps, prior to the main pooja). Vattoru Rala make a peparation of three coconuts by removing only the husk to leave only the white interior intact to tame the elephants and in preparation for the pageant. Before the time of departure the Basnayake Nilame, dressed in his official attire, makes his way to the Budhu Gey (Buddha Shrine) where he along with the Thero in charge of Pirith places the Casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic atop the head of the Kapu Mahattaya. He then places it on top of the specially made receptacle on the back of the tusker and simultaneously a gun shot is fired. The Thero then observes the five precepts after which another gun shot is fired signalling the start of the Perahera. The gun used for the firing is a remnant from the Portuguese era.
The first procession to grace the streets is the Dalada Perahera where the flag bearers march ahead, followed by the much famed Maha Bamba Kolama—an aspect unique to the Saman Devala Perahera. It is said that the Maha Bamba, a figure rising to a height of about eight feet, represents King Rajasinghe. Comprising of two faces, the hostile and the benign one, which shows that he will not hesitate to punish those who have wronged and his kind nature respectively, it is the role of the King that is unfolded by this figure. His attire, modest in nature with long sleeves and a ‘somaraya’—a sarong like dress—is believed to show the King’s civility while the sword represents his warrior nature and the flowers on the other hand shows his pious nature.

Rare Rituals of Gage Perahara (Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya)

Maha Saman Devala Perahera
Things to do, Festivals Diya Kapeema and Daval Perahera

Diya Kapeema signifies the end of the Esala Perahera. The ritual is conducted at a place named Rathmal Ella. The Perahera proceeds towards the Kotambaya Thotupola (ford) by the Kalu Ganga. At the ford two wooden rafts are used to convey the palanquins of the Saman Devalaya and the Paththini Devalaya to the place appointed for the Diya Kapeema. Both the rafts are decorated grandly and the raft carrying the palanquin of Saman Deviyo is tethered at the highest point reachable at Rathmal Ella where all except the Kapu Mahattaya, Bath Vadavana Rala and the person ferrying the raft steps onto dry land. The Diya Kapeema is done after covering the raft on all sides so that outsiders are not privy to the proceedings taking place.

After concluding the Diya Kapeema ceremony, a shot is fired and the procession makes its way back first to the Kotambaya Thotupola and then joins the Maha Perahera assembled close by. With much pomp and celebration, the procession now returns to the Saman Devalaya. On the pageant back, the tusker carries the ornaments of the god while the water obtained from the ceremonyheld within a ‘Pan Kendiya’, an ewer, is conveyed by the palanquin.

The procession, after reaching the Devalaya, rests for a while at the Sinhasanaya until the auspicious time arrives for the pageant to enter the Devalaya. Once the procession enters the Devala premises, the official council the Basnayake Nilame and the other office bearers—are seated on either side near the entrance to the main Devalaya and a gara yakuma is conducted. A gara yakuma is a ceremony that is done to convey blessings and protection to the office bearers of the Devalaya. This concludes the Esala Perahera for the year and the water from the Diya Kapeema ceremony is deposited within the shrine to be kept until the Perahera next year.

The Esala Perahera of the Maha Saman Devalaya has been declared a national event. Protecting tradition and posterity the Perahera will continue for years to come where each year the town of Ratnapura will come alive in a pageant of artistry and time honoured customs.

Saparagrama (Sabaragamuwa) Maha Saman Devalaya is an abode that entwines folklore, history and a heritage that are unique to Sri Lanka. Come every September, the city of Ratnapura and the Devalaya holds a festive air as the Maha Saman Devala Perahera or the Esala Perahera tours the streets in all its splendour calling forth devotees around the Island to witness a pageant that brings to life the age-old traditions that have lingered on for many centuries. Maha Saman Devalaya or the Great Saman Temple (also called Sumana Saman Devalaya) is a shrine dedicated to deity Saman, situated at Ratnapura, Sri Lanka who is the presiding deity of the Sri Pada Mountain (Adam's Peak) which is also called Samanthakuta meaning the mountain of Saman which is believed to have the left foot impression of Lord Buddha which he kept in his visit to Sri Lanka.

The Maha Saman Devalaya Esala Perahera originates from the Sabaragamuwa district in Sri Lanka. Its purpose interweaves history, tradition and heritage that are unique to the island. Every year in September, the city of Ratnapura and the Devalaya lights up in festivities as the Maha Saman Devala Perahera parades through the streets while locals and tourists alike flock to see this sacred marvel that has been in practice for centuries.

Prior to the festival’s commencement, age-old rituals come to life; the pirith ceremony; kap situveema; the smaller Kumbal and Dewele Peraheras. The Maha Saman Devalaya Esala Perahera concludes with the symbolic water cutting ceremony, and thereafter the Daval Perahera takes place during the day.

Considered as one of the guardian gods of Sri Lanka, Deity Saman is deeply venerated in the region of Rathnapura and related areas in the province of Sabaragamuwa of Sri Lanka, he is recorded to have been a district administrator of the region contemporary to Lord Buddha who he met on the former's visit to Sri Lanka.

Preceding the Maha Perahera are several rituals, namely the Pirith Ceremony, Kap Situveema, Kumbal Perahera and Dewele Perahera, which takes a total of 13 days to complete. And following the Maha Perahera is the Diya Kapeema (water cutting ceremony) and Daval Perahera (Day Perahera), which concludes the pageant. It is imperative that all these rituals are done according to auspicious times as overseen by the incumbent Basnayake Nilame, Kamal Ratwatte who is in charge of ensuring that the pageant continues without any hindrance.

The Perahara festival is visited by thousands of people from all over the Sri Lanka as well the world, and while the final perahara is telecasted, all peraharas are online broascasted via Youtube

Maha Saman Devala Esala Perahera 2019 -

Ratnapura Maha Saman Dewalaya in Sri Lanka

Ratnapura Maha Saman Dewalaya in Sri Lanka

Galigamuwe gnanadeepa tero @ Saman dewalaya, Ratnapura.

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2019 Perahera Festival at Maha Saman Devalaya in Ratnapura

The Perahera showcases some of the oldest rituals dedicated to the god of Saman, the protector of Sri Pada..

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ඓතිහාසික රත්නපුර මහා සමන්දේවාලය කඩා වැටීමේ අවධානමක...

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Saman Dewalaya in Sri Lanka

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සපරගමු මහ සමන් දෙවොලේ පැලවෙන ගලේ අරුමය ඔබ දන්නවද - Sri Sumana Saman Devalaya

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Saman Devalaya Perahara (Heritage of Sri Lanka)

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Maha Saman Devalaya or the Great Saman Temple is a shrine dedicated to deity Saman, situated at Ratnapura, Sri Lanka who is the presiding deity of the Sri Pada Mountain which is also called Samanthakuta. During the time that Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha was transferred to Delgamuwa Raja Maha Vihara, in a war time, during King Parakramabahu VI’s period the Shrine held the Esala Perahara or the Procession of the Tooth Relic for 11 years.Later under King Rajasinghe, the Saman Perahara joined to the Esala Perahara. Since then the Maha Saman Devalaya hoists the Esala Perahara in the month of August–September annually.

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