Navam Perahera
The Navam Maha Perahera is a grand annual Buddhist cultural festival featuring majestic caparisoned elephants, vibrant traditional dancers, and rhythmic drummers.
The streets around Navam Mawatha come alive with the beat of drums and a wash of colourful lights. Crowds gather in large numbers as majestic elephants and dancers move through the streets in procession. It's a celebration of both culture and spirituality, and has been a highlight of the February calendar since 1979. The Navam Maha Perahera takes centre stage, carrying with it a spirit of peace, harmony and unity.
Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple, has always made it a priority to preserve the ancient traditions and culture of our country. It was with this aim that Podi Hamuduruwo revived our heritage of dance and music through the Navam Maha Perahera, where thousands of artistes from across the island gather to celebrate. Traditions that were slowly fading into the past were brought back to life and kept alive with the Temple's support.
But what makes the Gangaramaya Temple and the Navam Perahera truly unique is the unity and harmony it fosters between communities. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians all come together to showcase their cultural heritage in the procession, while dancers and drummers from the Central region, the South, Sabaragamuwa, the North and the East perform side by side. Podi Hamuduruwo notes how important it is to encourage harmony and unity between communities through religious and cultural events, and for more than 37 years, the Navam Perahera has stood as a shining example of doing exactly that.
Start Point: Gangaramaya Temple on Sri Jinarathana Mawatha in Colombo.
Path: Moves along Sir James Peiris Mawatha, Navam Mawatha, Uttarananda Mawatha, and Perahera Mawatha, forming a loop around the Beira Lake.
End Point: Returns to and concludes at the Gangaramaya Temple.
At a glance
- When: Usually in February
- Venue: Gangaramaya Temple
- Organizer: Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo
- Entry: Free