Esala Mangalaya: Buddha Tooth Ceremonly in Sri Lanka

The hot August night, full of the mixture of smells of spices, sweets, and garbage, is quickly covering the ancient city of Kandy. The streets are overcrowded with people: they stay, sit and lie - on the streets, lamps,  rubbish bins, on top of each other, on the roofs of the ramshackle houses. Sometimes the roofs fall under the weight of the people. We are also sitting on the chairs placed up to one of the roofs at our own risk, and looking forward to what will happen next.

Sri Lanka, Kandy: Esala Mangallaya, The Celebration of The Buddha Tooth

The hot August night, full of the mixture of smells of spices, sweets and garbage, is quickly covering the ancient city of Kandy. The streets are overcrowded with people: they stay, sit and lie - on the streets, lamps,  rubbish bins, on top of each other, on the roofs of the ramshackle houses. Sometimes the roofs fall under the weight of the people. We are also sitting on the chairs placed on the roof at our own risk, and looking forward to what will happen next.

Suddenly the subtropical night, illuminated only by the light of the Full Moon, is starting to bloom with the thousands of lights of the ancient witchery. Fire-dancers are coming in the beginning of the procession, accompanied by the sounds of drums, flutes and own songs. The intricate pirouettes of the fiery drawing have not changed a lot over the past 400 years, and it becomes hard to believe that we are still in the XXI century.

Sri Lanka, Kandy: Temple Dalada Maligawa

This magnificent temple is situated in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy. The temple was built by late king Vimaladharmasooriya 1st in 1592 to house the relic of the Tooth of Buddha.

In this unusual temple, one can find not only human monks but also monk-elephants. At 6:15 AM and 9:15 AM every day, the elephants pray together with the monks. The oldest and wisest of the creatures bears the title Raja Elephant (or "Elephant the King"). In addition to age and wisdom, the elephant that bears this title has to have large tusks. This serves as evidence of his belonging to the highest caste and gives him the right to carry out religious duties.