Ville sacrée de Kandy

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NHK World Heritage 100 Series (en anglais)

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Procession of the Buddhist Tooth: Sacred City of Kandy

The gold casket contains the tooth relic of Buddha. It is located in a temple in what was a king’s palace complex in Kandy in Sri Lanka. The 500-year-old city is on a plateau surrounded by hills in the centre of the country, 130 kilometres from Colombo.

Many battles were fought to claim the tooth. Finally the Kandy Dynasty took control.Legend has it that the sacred Tooth was brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th Century when a queen from India came to marry. The Sri Lankan King considered the sacred Tooth a symbol of their Royal power. The Kandy Dynasty built The Temple of the Tooth in the 16th century to enshrine the relic. Although the Dynasty is long gone, the Tooth of Buddha is revered by Buddhists throughout the country and worldwide. Sri Lanka has been repeatedly invaded since the 13th Century - the capital was relocated several times. But no matter where Royalty went, the Tooth of Buddha stayed with them.

The ritual of bringing out the treasured tooth from the temple began in the 18th century. The Tooth of Buddha begins its procession or "Perahera" ... The royal male elephant carries the sacred tooth, and leads the procession. About 80 elephants make their way into town. Torches fend off curses. The number of dancers - on this evening - reached 3500. Several religions revere relics of saints. But they are rarely made public in the way the Tooth of Buddha is in Sri Lanka.

The procession continues for ten days … it’s the highlight of the annual calendar.