Aluth Sahal Mangalya (New Rice Festival)
At the Aluth Sahal Mangalya, farmers from across Sri Lanka bring the first rice of the Maha harvest to Anuradhapura and offer it to the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi.
The Aluth Sahal Mangalya, or New Rice Festival, is one of Sri Lanka's oldest farming traditions. Before the first rice of a new harvest is eaten at home, a share of it is offered to the Buddha, and the most important offering of all is made at the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, the sacred fig tree grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
The festival follows the Maha season, the main rice harvest that comes in with the northeast monsoon. Farmers' groups from paddy growing districts around the island bring their first threshed rice to Anuradhapura, and it is carried in procession to the Bodhi tree, accompanied by drummers, dancers and farmers in white. The new rice is then cooked into kiribath (milk rice) and offered at the tree, with special pujas and chanting by the monks.
Tradition links the festival to the January full moon, but in recent years the national ceremony has usually been held in early April, after the Maha harvest is in. It is a day of thanks rather than a show, and it gives a real feel for how closely rice, faith and village life are tied together in Sri Lanka.
Visitors are welcome at the Bodhi tree. Wear white or light clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, remove your shoes and hat, and while you are there, visit the great stupa of Ruwanwelisaya nearby.
For Sri Lanka's kings, offering the first rice was a state duty, a public sign that ruling the land began with caring for the people who farmed it. The modern national ceremony carries on that idea under state patronage, and it has been held at the Bodhi tree every year for more than half a century.
You'll find the same tradition in villages all over the island, where families offer the first rice of the harvest at their local temple before tasting it themselves. If you visit Anuradhapura on the day, come early, as the area around the Bodhi tree fills with farmers' groups, officials and pilgrims, and security checks can slow the entrance.
At a glance
- When: Usually in April
- Duration: 1 day
- Venue: Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura
- Organizer: Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, with farmer organisations
- Entry: Free