Kataragama temple
Encyclopedia
Kataragama temple in Kataragama
, Sri Lanka
, is a Hindu
and Buddhist temple complex dedicated to Skanda-Murukan
also known as Kataragamadevio. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Sinhala Buddhists, Hindu
Tamils, Muslims
and the indigenous Vedda people. It is a collection of modest shrines, of which the one dedicated to Kârttikeyan Skanda-Murukan also known as Kataragamadevio is the most important. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access, but currently is accessible by an all-weather road. Almost all the shrines— and the nearby Kiri Vehera
— are managed by Buddhists, apart from shrines dedicated to Tevayani, Shiva
(Siva) and the Muslim
mosque
. Up until the 1940s a majority of the pilgrims were Tamil
Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India
, who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. Since then most pilgrims tend to be Sinhala Buddhists, and cult of Kataragamadevio has become the most popular amongst the Sinhalese
people. Protests occurred upon this development in the 1940s, particularly when restrictions were placed on Tamil worship at the shrine.
A number of legends and myths are associated with the deity and the location, differing by religion, ethnic affiliation and time. The most accepted legend which was published in 1924 by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam says Kataragama is sacred to the God Kârttikeya, from whom it was called Kârttikeya Grâma (“City of Kârttikeya”) shortened to Kajara-gama and then to Kataragama. The Tamils, who are the chief worshippers at the shrine, have given the name a Tamil form, Kathirkâmam, a city of divine glory and love, as if from kathir, glory of light, and kâmam, love (Skt. kâma), or town or district (from Skt. graama). By Sinhalese and Tamils alike the God Kârttikeya is called Kandaswâmi; by the Sinhalese, also Kanda Kumâra (Kanda being the Tamil form of Sanskrit Skanda and Kumâra meaning youth), and by the Tamils Kumâra Swâmi, "the youthful god". And also there is another believes mostly populated among Singala Buddhist. That legend is also changing with the deities' burgeoning popularity with Buddhists, as the Buddhist ritual specialists and clergy try to accommodate the deity within Buddhist ideals of non-theism. With the change in devotees, the mode of worship and festivals has also changed from that of Hindu orientation to one that accommodates Buddhist rituals and theology. It is difficult to reconstruct the factual history of the place and the reason for its popularity amongst Sri Lankans and Indians based on legends and available archeological and literary evidence alone, although the place seems to have a venerable history. The lack of clear historic records and resultant legends and myths fuel the conflict between Buddhists and Hindus as to the ownership and the mode of worship at Kataragama.
The priests of the temple are known as Kapuralas and are believed to be descended from indigenous Vedda people. Veddas too have a claim on the temple, a nearby mountain peak and locality through a number of legends. There is a Muslim mosque and a few tombs of Muslim pious men buried nearby. The temple complex is also connected to a number of other similar temples in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka dedicated to Murukan which are along the path of pilgrimage from Jaffna
in the north to Kataragama in the south of the island; Arunagirinathar
traversed this pilgrimage route in the 1400s. The vicinity of the temple complex is also used for secretive practices of sorcery
and cursing peculiar to Sri Lanka. The entire temple complex was declared a holy place by the government of Sri Lanka in the 1950s, and since then various political leaders have contributed for its maintenance and upkeep.
There are number of theories as to the origin of the shrine. According to Heinz Bechert and Paul Younger, the mode of veneration and rituals connected with Kataragamadevio is a survival of indigenous Vedda mode of veneration that preceded the arrival of Buddhist and Indo-Aryan
cultural influences from North India
in Sri Lanka in the last centuries of BCE, although Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims have tried to co-opt the deity, rituals and the shrine. But according to S. Pathmanathan, the original Kataragama shrine was established as an adjunct guardian deity shrine to Skanda-Kumara
within a Buddhist temple complex. This particular shrine then became idealized as the very spot where Valli
met Murukan amongst local Tamils and Sinhalese, and Kataragamadevio subsumed the identity of Skanda-Kumara and became a deity on his own right with rituals and pilgrimage. According to Pathmanathan, it happened after the 13th century CE when Murukan became popular amongst Tamils and before the 15th century CE when the poet Arunagirinathar
identified the very location as a sacred spot.
Literary evidence
The first literary mention of Kataragama in a context of a sacred place to Skanda-Murukan is in its Tamil
form Kathirkamam in the 15th-century devotional poems of Arunagirinathar. Tradition claims that he visited the forest shrine when he composed the poems. According to his poems, the deity dwelt on top of a mountain. The first mention of Kataragamadevio in the form Khattugama, as a guardian deity of Sri Lanka and its Buddhist relic
s, was in the Pali
chronicle of Jinakalamali written during the 16th century in what is today Thailand
. Kataragama village is first mentioned in the historical annals known as Mahavamsa
written down in the 5th century CE. It mentions a town named Kajjaragama from which important dignitaries came to receive the sacred Bo sapling sent from Asoka’s Mauryan Empire
on 288 BCE.
Archeological evidence
The general vicinity of the temple has number of ancient ruins and inscriptions. Based on dated inscriptions found, the nearby Kiri Vehera
is believed to be have been built or renovated around 1st century BCE. There is also an inscription, a votive offering
to the Mangala Mahacetiya, apparently the former name of Kiri Vehera on the orders of one Mahadathika Mahanaga, a son of king Tiritara who ruled in 447 CE. There is also an inscription of Dapula I dated to 7the century CE who built a sanctuary for Buddhist monks, but the inscription does not mention Kataragama by name. Nearby Tissamaharama
was a trading town of antiquity by the 2nd century BCE, as indicated by Prakrit
and Tamil Brahmi legends in coins and potsherds
unearthed on the site.
The region was part of the ancient kingdom of Ruhuna
which played an important role in the political history of the island.
Role of Kalyangiri Swamy
The medieval phase of the history of the shrine began with the arrival of one Kalyanagiri Swamy from North India
sometimes during the 16th or 17th century CE. He identified the very spot of the shrines and their mythic associations with various characters and events as expounded in Skanda Purana
. Following his re-establishment of the forest shrine, it again became a place of pilgrimage for Indian and Sri Lankan Hindus. The shrine also attracted local Sinhala Buddhist devotees. The caretakers of the shrines were people of the forest who were of indigenous Vedda or mixed Vedda and Sinhalese lineages. The shrines popularity increased with the veneration of the place by the kings of the Kandyan kingdom, the last indigenous kingdom prior to colonial occupation of the island. When Indian indentured workers were brought in after the British occupation of the island in 1815, they too began to participate in the pilgrimage in droves, thus the popularity of the shrine increased amongst all sections of the people.
. Skanda Purana written in Sanskrit
in the 7th or 8th century CE is the primary corpus of all literature about him. A Tamil rendition of Skanda Purana
, known as Kandha Puranam written in the 14 century CE also expands on legends of Valli meeting Murukan. Kandha Puranam plays an important role amongst Sri Lankan Tamils than Tamils from India, who hardly know it.
In Sri Lanka the Sinhala Buddhists also worshiped Kartikeya as Kumaradevio or Skanda- Kumara since at least the 4th century CE if not earlier. Skanda-Kumara was known as one of the guardian deities until the 14th century, invoked to protect the island; they are accommodated within the non-theistic Buddhist religion. During the 11th and 12th century CE, the worship of Skanda-Kumara was documented even among the royal family. At some point in the past Skanda-Kumara was identified with the deity in Kataragama shrine, also known as Kataragamadevio and Kataragamadevio, became one of the guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Numerous legends have sprung about Kataragamadevio, some of which try to find an independent origin for Katargamadevio from the Hindu roots of Skanda-Kumara.
and that Duttagamini had the shrine erected to Skanda-Kumara at Kataragama after his victory. This legend has no corroboration in Mahavamsa
, the historic annals about Dutthagamini. Another Sinhala legend makes Kataragamadevio a deification of a Tamil spy sent by Elara to live amongst the Sinhalese or a Tamil juggler who made the locals deify him after his death. Yet another legend says that Kataragamadevio is a deification of the legendary king Mahasena, who is born as a Bodhisattva
or Buddha in waiting. Anthropologists Richard Gombrich
and Gananath Obeyesekere
were able to identify new strands of these legends and the originators of these legends since 1970s, with the burgeoning popularity of the shrine and its deity amongst the Sinhala Buddhists.
According to the practice of cursing and sorcery
peculiar to Sinhala Buddhists, Kataragamadevio also has his dark side represented by Getabaru and Kadavara. The current Getabaru shrine is located in an isolated place near Morawaka. The shrine for Kadavara is in the town of Kataragama. His power to curse is carried out in secret outside the Main Kataragamadevio shrine at a place at the Menik ganga river, where he receives animal sacrifices.Katagamadevio is also directly invoked in sorcery practices.
or Gale Yakka (Lord of the Rock) as their primarily deity to be propitiated before hunts. They propitiate the deity by building a shrine made out of thatched leaves with a lance or arrow planted in the middle of the structure. They dance around the shrine with the shaman becoming possessed with the spirits of the dead ancestors who guide the hunting party in techniques and places to go hunt. Anthropologist Charles Gabriel Seligman
felt that the Kataragamadevio cult has taken on some aspects of the Kande Yakka rituals and traditions. A clan of Veddas who lived near to the shrine was known as Kovil Vanam (Temple precincts). As a clan they are extinct but were to be found in the eastern province during the 19th century. Local Veddas believed that the nearby mountain peak of Vaedihitti Kande (The Mountain of Veddas) was the abode of the deity. The deity after coming over the shore married a local Vedda woman named Valli, a daughter of a Vedda chief and resided in the mountain. Eventually he was coaxed into settling down at the current location.
The most important one is known as Maha Devale or Maha Kovil and is dedicated to Skanda-Murugan known amongst the Sinhalese as Kataragamadevio. It does not have a statute of the deity; instead it holds a Yantra
, a spiritual drawing of the deity's power. Of all the shrines in the complex, it is the largest and the first that all pilgrims come to visit. Although it does not have a representation of the deity, kept in an adjoining room is a statue of Shiva
also known amongst Sinhalese as Karanduva. Within it there is a clay arm chair known as Kalana Mandima that supposedly belonged to Kalyanagiri Swamy. It is covered by a leopard’s skin and on it has all the ceremonial instruments. To the left of the main shrine lies a smaller shrine dedicated to Hindu god Ganesha
who is known as Ganapatidevio amongst Sinhalese. Tamils refer to him as the Manica Pillaiyar as well. It too is a small rectangular building without any decoration. To the left of Ganesha shrine stands the Vishnu Devale the shrine dedicated to Vishnu
within which there is also a Buddha image. Behind this is a large Bo tree that tradition holds as sprung from the sapling of the original Bo tree in Anuradhapura
, hence is very much held in high esteem by the visiting Buddhists.
Attached to the western wall of the shrine complex are shrines dedicated Kali
, Pattini
, Managaradevio, Dedimunda and Suniyam. Outside the temple yard and beyond the northern gate lies the shrine to Tevayani. Tevayani shrine is managed by the Sankara Mutt
from Sringeri in Karnataka
, India
.The shrine dedicated to Valli, the consort of the main deity lies in front of the mosque. Close to the Valli shrine is a Kadamba tree that is sacred to Murukan. Within the mosque are number of tombs of Muslim holy men. There is also a separate shrine dedicated to the tomb of Kalayangiri swamy known amongst Tamils as Mutuligaswamy kovil. It is also known as the Siva Devale.
, very much like the Veddas of Sri Lanka. With the advancement of settled agriculture, Murukan became identified with the tribal chieftains as a god of war, becoming popular among all segments of the society. He was worshiped symbolically as lance and trees such as Kadamba (Anthocephalus cadamba) were considered to be sacred to him. Birds such as peacock or rooster
were also identified with the deity. Velans were a special class of priests identified with his worship. With advent of North Indian traditions to South with dynasties such as Pallavas and Kadambas
, Murukan was infused with the aspects of Kartikeya or Skanda, a god of war from North India. All legends that were attributed to Kartikeya were also attributed to Murukan. The syncretic deity has six major temples in Tamil Nadu
and countless many other smaller temples. Legends developed that bound the worship of syncretic Skanda-Murukan to Tamil Nadu as a god of Tamils. It included his marriage of Valli from Tondaimandalam.
, known in some sources as Velapura, became associated with Murukan worship as well. The cult of Murukan was also grafted onto the worship of Skanda-Kumara that was prevalent in Sri Lanka. Amongst the Sinhalese he became known as the god of Kataragama village, thus Kataragamdevio. Shrines of Katargamadevio are found in almost all Sinhala Buddhist villages and towns. He is recognized as one of the guardian deities. Worshippers would take an arduous pilgrimage on foot through jungles to fulfill their vows to the deity. The pilgrimage included both Tamils from India and Sri Lanka as well as Sinhalese. Number of temples mostly in the east coast of Sri Lanka became identified with Kataragama temple and synchronized their festivals based on the arrival of pilgrims all the way from the north of the island. These include temples in Verugal
, Mandur
, Tirukovil and Okanda
. In the interior of the island temples such as Embekke were built in the 15 to 17 the century CE to propitiate the Murukan aspect of Kataragamdevio by the Sinhalese elite.
Since the 1950s the cult of Kataragama has taken a nationalistic tone amongst the Sinhalese people. People visit the shrine year long, and during the annual festival it looks like a carnival. People get into trance and indulge in ecstatic rituals formerly associated with Hindus such as fire walking, Kavadi
and even body piercing or hook swinging. These ecstatic rituals have also carried through the island and are widely practiced. Prominent Sinhalese politicians such as Dudley Senanayake
and Ranasinghe Premadasa
have associated with the temple upkeep by building, renovation and cleaning projects.
since its political independence from Great Britain
in 1948. Paul Wirz in 1930s wrote about tensions between Hindus and Buddhists regarding the ownership and mode of ritual practice in Kataragama. For the past millennia the majority of the pilgrims were Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. By the 1940 roads were constructed and more and more Sinhala Buddhists began to take the pilgrimage. This increased the tensions between the local Hindus and Buddhists about the ownership and type of rituals to be used. The government interceded on behalf of the Buddhists and enabled the complete takeover of the temple complex and in effect the shrines have become an adjunct to the Buddhist Kiri Vehera. Typical Tamil Hindu rituals at Kataragama such as fire walking, Kavadi
dance and body piercing have been taken over by the Buddhists and have been spread to the rest of the island. The Buddhist takeover of the temple and its rituals has also profoundly affected the rationale nature of austere Theravada Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka to that of the personal Bhakti
veneration of deities found amongst the Hindus of Sri Lanka and South India. The loss of Hindu influence within the temple complex has negatively affected the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu society. According to Paul Younger the Buddhist takeover was precipitated by the overwhelming participation of Buddhists in what are essentially Hindu rituals that worried the Buddhist establishment. There is a strong political and religious pressure to further modify the temple rituals to conform within an orthodox Theravada Buddhist world view.
Kataragama
Kataragama is a pilgrimage town popular with Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and indigenous Vedda communities of Sri Lanka and South India. The town has Ruhunu Maha Kataragama devalaya, a shrine dedicated to Skanda-Murukan also known as Kataragamadevio...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, is a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Buddhist temple complex dedicated to Skanda-Murukan
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
also known as Kataragamadevio. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Sinhala Buddhists, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Tamils, Muslims
Sri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...
and the indigenous Vedda people. It is a collection of modest shrines, of which the one dedicated to Kârttikeyan Skanda-Murukan also known as Kataragamadevio is the most important. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access, but currently is accessible by an all-weather road. Almost all the shrines— and the nearby Kiri Vehera
Kiri Vehera
Kiri Vehera is an ancient stupa built by King Mahasena and situated in Kataragama, Sri Lanka. It is 95 ft. in height with a circumference of 280 ft. This structure probably dates back to the 3rd century B.C.-External links:**...
— are managed by Buddhists, apart from shrines dedicated to Tevayani, Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
(Siva) and the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
. Up until the 1940s a majority of the pilgrims were Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. Since then most pilgrims tend to be Sinhala Buddhists, and cult of Kataragamadevio has become the most popular amongst the Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
people. Protests occurred upon this development in the 1940s, particularly when restrictions were placed on Tamil worship at the shrine.
A number of legends and myths are associated with the deity and the location, differing by religion, ethnic affiliation and time. The most accepted legend which was published in 1924 by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam says Kataragama is sacred to the God Kârttikeya, from whom it was called Kârttikeya Grâma (“City of Kârttikeya”) shortened to Kajara-gama and then to Kataragama. The Tamils, who are the chief worshippers at the shrine, have given the name a Tamil form, Kathirkâmam, a city of divine glory and love, as if from kathir, glory of light, and kâmam, love (Skt. kâma), or town or district (from Skt. graama). By Sinhalese and Tamils alike the God Kârttikeya is called Kandaswâmi; by the Sinhalese, also Kanda Kumâra (Kanda being the Tamil form of Sanskrit Skanda and Kumâra meaning youth), and by the Tamils Kumâra Swâmi, "the youthful god". And also there is another believes mostly populated among Singala Buddhist. That legend is also changing with the deities' burgeoning popularity with Buddhists, as the Buddhist ritual specialists and clergy try to accommodate the deity within Buddhist ideals of non-theism. With the change in devotees, the mode of worship and festivals has also changed from that of Hindu orientation to one that accommodates Buddhist rituals and theology. It is difficult to reconstruct the factual history of the place and the reason for its popularity amongst Sri Lankans and Indians based on legends and available archeological and literary evidence alone, although the place seems to have a venerable history. The lack of clear historic records and resultant legends and myths fuel the conflict between Buddhists and Hindus as to the ownership and the mode of worship at Kataragama.
The priests of the temple are known as Kapuralas and are believed to be descended from indigenous Vedda people. Veddas too have a claim on the temple, a nearby mountain peak and locality through a number of legends. There is a Muslim mosque and a few tombs of Muslim pious men buried nearby. The temple complex is also connected to a number of other similar temples in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka dedicated to Murukan which are along the path of pilgrimage from Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
in the north to Kataragama in the south of the island; Arunagirinathar
Arunagirinathar
Arunagirinathar was Tamil poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the creator of Tiruppugazh, a book of poems in Tamil in praise of the Hindu God Murugan. He was a member of the Isai Vellalar community....
traversed this pilgrimage route in the 1400s. The vicinity of the temple complex is also used for secretive practices of sorcery
Sorcery
Sorcery may refer to:* Magic * Maleficium * Witchcraft* Sorcery , a video game for the PlayStation 3 utilizing the PlayStation Move* Sorcery , 1995* Sorcery , 1974...
and cursing peculiar to Sri Lanka. The entire temple complex was declared a holy place by the government of Sri Lanka in the 1950s, and since then various political leaders have contributed for its maintenance and upkeep.
History
Origin theoriesThere are number of theories as to the origin of the shrine. According to Heinz Bechert and Paul Younger, the mode of veneration and rituals connected with Kataragamadevio is a survival of indigenous Vedda mode of veneration that preceded the arrival of Buddhist and Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
cultural influences from North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
in Sri Lanka in the last centuries of BCE, although Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims have tried to co-opt the deity, rituals and the shrine. But according to S. Pathmanathan, the original Kataragama shrine was established as an adjunct guardian deity shrine to Skanda-Kumara
Skanda
Skanda is the name of deities popular amongst Hindus and Buddhists.* Skanda, a Hindu deity also known as Kartikeya and Murugan and Subhramanya* Skanda , a popular Deva and/or Bodhisattva popular in Chinese Buddhism...
within a Buddhist temple complex. This particular shrine then became idealized as the very spot where Valli
Valli
Valli is a Goddess and the divine consort of the prominent Hindu God Murugan, according to Hindu mythology. She represents the "Ichha Shakti" , and Goddess Deivayanai depicts "Kriya Shakthi" , and the Vel embodies "Gnana Shakthi" .Valli in Tamil language means a creeper and is also used as a title...
met Murukan amongst local Tamils and Sinhalese, and Kataragamadevio subsumed the identity of Skanda-Kumara and became a deity on his own right with rituals and pilgrimage. According to Pathmanathan, it happened after the 13th century CE when Murukan became popular amongst Tamils and before the 15th century CE when the poet Arunagirinathar
Arunagirinathar
Arunagirinathar was Tamil poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the creator of Tiruppugazh, a book of poems in Tamil in praise of the Hindu God Murugan. He was a member of the Isai Vellalar community....
identified the very location as a sacred spot.
Literary evidence
The first literary mention of Kataragama in a context of a sacred place to Skanda-Murukan is in its Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
form Kathirkamam in the 15th-century devotional poems of Arunagirinathar. Tradition claims that he visited the forest shrine when he composed the poems. According to his poems, the deity dwelt on top of a mountain. The first mention of Kataragamadevio in the form Khattugama, as a guardian deity of Sri Lanka and its Buddhist relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s, was in the Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
chronicle of Jinakalamali written during the 16th century in what is today Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Kataragama village is first mentioned in the historical annals known as Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
written down in the 5th century CE. It mentions a town named Kajjaragama from which important dignitaries came to receive the sacred Bo sapling sent from Asoka’s Mauryan Empire
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...
on 288 BCE.
Archeological evidence
The general vicinity of the temple has number of ancient ruins and inscriptions. Based on dated inscriptions found, the nearby Kiri Vehera
Kiri Vehera
Kiri Vehera is an ancient stupa built by King Mahasena and situated in Kataragama, Sri Lanka. It is 95 ft. in height with a circumference of 280 ft. This structure probably dates back to the 3rd century B.C.-External links:**...
is believed to be have been built or renovated around 1st century BCE. There is also an inscription, a votive offering
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
to the Mangala Mahacetiya, apparently the former name of Kiri Vehera on the orders of one Mahadathika Mahanaga, a son of king Tiritara who ruled in 447 CE. There is also an inscription of Dapula I dated to 7the century CE who built a sanctuary for Buddhist monks, but the inscription does not mention Kataragama by name. Nearby Tissamaharama
Tissamaharama
Tissamaharama is a town in south-eastern Sri Lanka. It used to be the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Only few buildings from that period can still be seen today. The large artificial Tissa Wewa lake, which was a part of a sophisticated irrigation...
was a trading town of antiquity by the 2nd century BCE, as indicated by Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
and Tamil Brahmi legends in coins and potsherds
Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscriptions
Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription refers to a fragment of black and red ware flat dish inscribed in Tamil in the Tamil Brahmi script excavated at the earliest layer in southern town of Tissamaharama in Sri Lanka. It is dated to approximately 200 BC by German scholars who undertook the...
unearthed on the site.
The region was part of the ancient kingdom of Ruhuna
Ruhuna
Ruhuna is a region of southern Sri Lanka. It was the centre of a flourishing civilization and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka, Magama, Tissamaharama and Mahanagakula , were established here....
which played an important role in the political history of the island.
Role of Kalyangiri Swamy
The medieval phase of the history of the shrine began with the arrival of one Kalyanagiri Swamy from North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
sometimes during the 16th or 17th century CE. He identified the very spot of the shrines and their mythic associations with various characters and events as expounded in Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...
. Following his re-establishment of the forest shrine, it again became a place of pilgrimage for Indian and Sri Lankan Hindus. The shrine also attracted local Sinhala Buddhist devotees. The caretakers of the shrines were people of the forest who were of indigenous Vedda or mixed Vedda and Sinhalese lineages. The shrines popularity increased with the veneration of the place by the kings of the Kandyan kingdom, the last indigenous kingdom prior to colonial occupation of the island. When Indian indentured workers were brought in after the British occupation of the island in 1815, they too began to participate in the pilgrimage in droves, thus the popularity of the shrine increased amongst all sections of the people.
Legends
Hindu legends
According to Hindus and some Buddhist texts, the main shrine is dedicated to Kartikeya (also known as Murukan in Tamil sources). Kartikeya, also known as Kumara, Skanda, Saravanabhava, Visakha or Mahasena, is a god of war known from northwestern India. Rulers such as Kushanas and Yaudheyas had his likeness minted in coins that they issued in the last centuries BCE. The deity's popularity has waned in North India but has survived in South India. In South India, he became known as Subrahmaniya and was eventually fused with another local god of war known as Murukan among Tamils. Murukan is known independently from Cankam literature dated from 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE. Along the way number of legends were woven about the deity’s birth, accomplishments, and marriages including one to a tribal princess known amongst Tamil and Sinhalese sources as ValliValli
Valli is a Goddess and the divine consort of the prominent Hindu God Murugan, according to Hindu mythology. She represents the "Ichha Shakti" , and Goddess Deivayanai depicts "Kriya Shakthi" , and the Vel embodies "Gnana Shakthi" .Valli in Tamil language means a creeper and is also used as a title...
. Skanda Purana written in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
in the 7th or 8th century CE is the primary corpus of all literature about him. A Tamil rendition of Skanda Purana
Skanda Purana
The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahapurana, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text is devoted mainly to the lilas of Kartikeya , a son of Shiva and Parvati. It also contains a number of legends about Shiva, and the holy places associated with him...
, known as Kandha Puranam written in the 14 century CE also expands on legends of Valli meeting Murukan. Kandha Puranam plays an important role amongst Sri Lankan Tamils than Tamils from India, who hardly know it.
In Sri Lanka the Sinhala Buddhists also worshiped Kartikeya as Kumaradevio or Skanda- Kumara since at least the 4th century CE if not earlier. Skanda-Kumara was known as one of the guardian deities until the 14th century, invoked to protect the island; they are accommodated within the non-theistic Buddhist religion. During the 11th and 12th century CE, the worship of Skanda-Kumara was documented even among the royal family. At some point in the past Skanda-Kumara was identified with the deity in Kataragama shrine, also known as Kataragamadevio and Kataragamadevio, became one of the guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Numerous legends have sprung about Kataragamadevio, some of which try to find an independent origin for Katargamadevio from the Hindu roots of Skanda-Kumara.
Buddhist legends
One of the Sinhala legends tells that when Skanda-Kumara moved to Sri Lanka, he asked for refuge from Tamils, but the Tamils refused, hence he came to live with the Sinhalese in Kataragama. As a penance for their refusal, the deity forced Tamils to indulge in body piercing and fire walking in his annual festival. This legend tries to explain the location of the shrine as well as the traditional patterns of worship by Tamils. Another Sinhala legends attests that Kataragamadevio was the deity worshiped by Dutthagamini in the first century BCE, prior to his war with ElaraElara
Elara may refer to one of the following:*Elara , a moon of Jupiter*Elara , the mother of Tityas in Greek mythology*Elara , an ancient Sri Lankan king...
and that Duttagamini had the shrine erected to Skanda-Kumara at Kataragama after his victory. This legend has no corroboration in Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...
, the historic annals about Dutthagamini. Another Sinhala legend makes Kataragamadevio a deification of a Tamil spy sent by Elara to live amongst the Sinhalese or a Tamil juggler who made the locals deify him after his death. Yet another legend says that Kataragamadevio is a deification of the legendary king Mahasena, who is born as a Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
or Buddha in waiting. Anthropologists Richard Gombrich
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, Pāli, and Buddhist Studies. He acted as the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-President of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies...
and Gananath Obeyesekere
Gananath Obeyesekere
Gananath Obeyesekere is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and has done much work in his home country of Sri Lanka. He completed a B.A. in English at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D at the University of Washington...
were able to identify new strands of these legends and the originators of these legends since 1970s, with the burgeoning popularity of the shrine and its deity amongst the Sinhala Buddhists.
According to the practice of cursing and sorcery
Sorcery
Sorcery may refer to:* Magic * Maleficium * Witchcraft* Sorcery , a video game for the PlayStation 3 utilizing the PlayStation Move* Sorcery , 1995* Sorcery , 1974...
peculiar to Sinhala Buddhists, Kataragamadevio also has his dark side represented by Getabaru and Kadavara. The current Getabaru shrine is located in an isolated place near Morawaka. The shrine for Kadavara is in the town of Kataragama. His power to curse is carried out in secret outside the Main Kataragamadevio shrine at a place at the Menik ganga river, where he receives animal sacrifices.Katagamadevio is also directly invoked in sorcery practices.
Muslim legends
Muslim or Islamic legends about Kataragama are relatively newer. According Muslims Kataragama is referred to as al-Khidr or land of Khidr. A number of Muslim pious and holy men seems to have migrated from India and settled down in the vicinity. The earliest known one is one Hayathu, whose simple residence became the mosque. Another one called Karima Nabi is supposed to have discovered a source of water that when drunk provides immortality. Historic figures such as Jabbar Ali Sha (died 1872) and Meer Syed Mohhamed Alisha Bawa (died 1945) also have mausoleums built over their tombs.Vedda legends
The Veddas who have kept out of the mainstream culture of Sri Lanka do not subscribe to Kataragamadevio as their deity. Unassimilated Veddas consider Kande YakkaKande Yakka
Kande Yaka translated as spirit of the mountain or rock in English is a popular spirit invoked during religious rituals of the indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka....
or Gale Yakka (Lord of the Rock) as their primarily deity to be propitiated before hunts. They propitiate the deity by building a shrine made out of thatched leaves with a lance or arrow planted in the middle of the structure. They dance around the shrine with the shaman becoming possessed with the spirits of the dead ancestors who guide the hunting party in techniques and places to go hunt. Anthropologist Charles Gabriel Seligman
Charles Gabriel Seligman
Charles Gabriel Seligman FRS was a British ethnologist. Born in London, Seligman studied medicine at St. Thomas' Hospital....
felt that the Kataragamadevio cult has taken on some aspects of the Kande Yakka rituals and traditions. A clan of Veddas who lived near to the shrine was known as Kovil Vanam (Temple precincts). As a clan they are extinct but were to be found in the eastern province during the 19th century. Local Veddas believed that the nearby mountain peak of Vaedihitti Kande (The Mountain of Veddas) was the abode of the deity. The deity after coming over the shore married a local Vedda woman named Valli, a daughter of a Vedda chief and resided in the mountain. Eventually he was coaxed into settling down at the current location.
Temple layout
Almost all the shrines are nondescript small rectangular buildings without any ornamentation. There is no representative of deities adorning the outside of the buildings. This is in contrast to any other Hindu temple in Sri Lanka or India. Almost all shrines are built of stone except that one dedicated to Valli which shows timber construction. They have been left as originally constructed and there aren’t any plans to improve upon them, because people are reluctant to tamper with the original shrine complex.The most important one is known as Maha Devale or Maha Kovil and is dedicated to Skanda-Murugan known amongst the Sinhalese as Kataragamadevio. It does not have a statute of the deity; instead it holds a Yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
, a spiritual drawing of the deity's power. Of all the shrines in the complex, it is the largest and the first that all pilgrims come to visit. Although it does not have a representation of the deity, kept in an adjoining room is a statue of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
also known amongst Sinhalese as Karanduva. Within it there is a clay arm chair known as Kalana Mandima that supposedly belonged to Kalyanagiri Swamy. It is covered by a leopard’s skin and on it has all the ceremonial instruments. To the left of the main shrine lies a smaller shrine dedicated to Hindu god Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
who is known as Ganapatidevio amongst Sinhalese. Tamils refer to him as the Manica Pillaiyar as well. It too is a small rectangular building without any decoration. To the left of Ganesha shrine stands the Vishnu Devale the shrine dedicated to Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
within which there is also a Buddha image. Behind this is a large Bo tree that tradition holds as sprung from the sapling of the original Bo tree in Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic...
, hence is very much held in high esteem by the visiting Buddhists.
Attached to the western wall of the shrine complex are shrines dedicated Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, Pattini
Pattini
In Sinhala Buddhist belief the Pattini is a guardian deity of Buddhism. She is the deification of Kannagi, who is the central character of the Tamil epic Silapadhikaram of Ilango Adigal...
, Managaradevio, Dedimunda and Suniyam. Outside the temple yard and beyond the northern gate lies the shrine to Tevayani. Tevayani shrine is managed by the Sankara Mutt
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Sringeri Sharada Peetham is the southern Advaita Vedanta matha. It is located in Shringeri. It is claimed that it is the first of the four original mathas established by Adi Shankara.-Location:...
from Sringeri in Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.The shrine dedicated to Valli, the consort of the main deity lies in front of the mosque. Close to the Valli shrine is a Kadamba tree that is sacred to Murukan. Within the mosque are number of tombs of Muslim holy men. There is also a separate shrine dedicated to the tomb of Kalayangiri swamy known amongst Tamils as Mutuligaswamy kovil. It is also known as the Siva Devale.
Murukan and Kataragamadevio cults
Buddhism doesn’t encourage beliefs in gods or their veneration and yet Buddhists in Sri Lanka make an annual pilgrimage to Kataragama. The deity has attained the position of national god amongst the Sinhalese. This reflects the similar position held by Murukan amongst Tamils.Murukan cult
Murukan is known from Cankam Tamil literature. The earliest reference to Murukan was as a god that was propitiated to help in good hunting. He was the primary god of hunter gatherer people from the mountainous region of Southern Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, very much like the Veddas of Sri Lanka. With the advancement of settled agriculture, Murukan became identified with the tribal chieftains as a god of war, becoming popular among all segments of the society. He was worshiped symbolically as lance and trees such as Kadamba (Anthocephalus cadamba) were considered to be sacred to him. Birds such as peacock or rooster
Rooster
A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
were also identified with the deity. Velans were a special class of priests identified with his worship. With advent of North Indian traditions to South with dynasties such as Pallavas and Kadambas
Kadambas
The Kadamba Dynasty was an ancient royal family of Karnataka that ruled from Banavasi in present day Uttara Kannada district. The dynasty later continued to rule as a feudatory of larger Kannada empires, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta empires for over five hundred years during which time they...
, Murukan was infused with the aspects of Kartikeya or Skanda, a god of war from North India. All legends that were attributed to Kartikeya were also attributed to Murukan. The syncretic deity has six major temples in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and countless many other smaller temples. Legends developed that bound the worship of syncretic Skanda-Murukan to Tamil Nadu as a god of Tamils. It included his marriage of Valli from Tondaimandalam.
Katargamadevio cult
Legends in Sri Lanka claimed that Valli was a daughter of a Vedda chief from Kataragama in the south of the island. The town of KalutaraKalutara
Kalutara is a resort town located approximately 40 km south of Colombo in Sri Lanka.- Overview :Once an important spice-trading center, the city's name is derived from the Kalu Ganga River . In the 11th Century, the town was temporarily made a capital on the orders of a South Indian Prince...
, known in some sources as Velapura, became associated with Murukan worship as well. The cult of Murukan was also grafted onto the worship of Skanda-Kumara that was prevalent in Sri Lanka. Amongst the Sinhalese he became known as the god of Kataragama village, thus Kataragamdevio. Shrines of Katargamadevio are found in almost all Sinhala Buddhist villages and towns. He is recognized as one of the guardian deities. Worshippers would take an arduous pilgrimage on foot through jungles to fulfill their vows to the deity. The pilgrimage included both Tamils from India and Sri Lanka as well as Sinhalese. Number of temples mostly in the east coast of Sri Lanka became identified with Kataragama temple and synchronized their festivals based on the arrival of pilgrims all the way from the north of the island. These include temples in Verugal
Verugal
Verugal is a small hamlet situated within the eastern Trincomalee District of Sri Lanka. It is known for its Hindu temple dedicated to deity Murugan that was destroyed in the 16th century by the Portuguese and rebuilt later....
, Mandur
Mandur (Sri Lanka)
Mandur or Mantur is a village situated within the Eastern Batticalo District of Sri Lanka. Most of the inhabitants are of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Mandur is known for its temple dedicated to Hindu deity Murugan. It is known as the Mantur Sri Kantacuvaami temple....
, Tirukovil and Okanda
Okanda
Okanda is a small hamlet in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka within the Ampara District. It is known for its shrine dedicated to Hindu deity Murugan known as Okanthamalai Velayuda Swami Temple and for surfing. Pilgrims from the Eastern Province stop over at the Murugan temple on their way to...
. In the interior of the island temples such as Embekke were built in the 15 to 17 the century CE to propitiate the Murukan aspect of Kataragamdevio by the Sinhalese elite.
Since the 1950s the cult of Kataragama has taken a nationalistic tone amongst the Sinhalese people. People visit the shrine year long, and during the annual festival it looks like a carnival. People get into trance and indulge in ecstatic rituals formerly associated with Hindus such as fire walking, Kavadi
Kavadi
Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God...
and even body piercing or hook swinging. These ecstatic rituals have also carried through the island and are widely practiced. Prominent Sinhalese politicians such as Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Shelton Senanayake was a Ceylonese politician, who became the second Prime Minister of Ceylon and went on to become prime minister on 2 more times during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life:Dudley was born on 19 June, 1911 as the eldest son to Molly Dunuwila and Don Stephen Senanayake, who...
and Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranasinghe Premadasa was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 to May 1, 1993. Before that, he served as the Prime Minister in the government headed by J. R. Jayewardene from February 6, 1978 to January 1, 1989...
have associated with the temple upkeep by building, renovation and cleaning projects.
Festivals
The festivals and daily rituals do not adhere to standard Hindu Agamic or Buddhist rituals. It follows what Paul Younger calls as ancient Vedda traditions of worship. Although since the medieval period Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims have tried to co-opt the temple, deity and its worship as their own, the rituals maintained by the native priests are still intact. The main festival known in the Sinhalese language as Esela Perehera. It is celebrated during the months of July and August. About 45 days prior to the festival begins, the priests go into the forest and find two forked branches of a sacred tree. The branches are then immersed in the local river and kept at the shrines dedicated to Kataragamadevio and Vali. When the main festival begins, the Yantra representing the deity is retrieved from its storage location and paraded through a street on top of an Elephant and carried to the Valli shrine. Then after two hours it is returned. On the last day of the festival the Yantra is left overnight at the Valli shrine and brought back to the main shrine. The priests when conducting rituals cover their mouths with white cloth and conduct the rituals in silence. Associated with the main festival is fire walking arranged by a master of the ritual. Hundreds of devotees participate in fire walking, yet others participate in ecstatic dance forms called Kavadi and body piercing. Many of the pilgrims also exhibit signs of being possessed.Hindu and Buddhist conflicts
Sri Lanka has had a history of conflict between its minority Hindu Tamils and majority BuddhistsOrigins of the Sri Lankan civil war
The origins of the Sri Lankan Civil War lie in the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. According to Jonathan Spencer, a social anthropologist from the School of Social and Political Studies of the University of Edinburgh, the war is an outcome of how...
since its political independence from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1948. Paul Wirz in 1930s wrote about tensions between Hindus and Buddhists regarding the ownership and mode of ritual practice in Kataragama. For the past millennia the majority of the pilgrims were Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. By the 1940 roads were constructed and more and more Sinhala Buddhists began to take the pilgrimage. This increased the tensions between the local Hindus and Buddhists about the ownership and type of rituals to be used. The government interceded on behalf of the Buddhists and enabled the complete takeover of the temple complex and in effect the shrines have become an adjunct to the Buddhist Kiri Vehera. Typical Tamil Hindu rituals at Kataragama such as fire walking, Kavadi
Kavadi
Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God...
dance and body piercing have been taken over by the Buddhists and have been spread to the rest of the island. The Buddhist takeover of the temple and its rituals has also profoundly affected the rationale nature of austere Theravada Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka to that of the personal Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
veneration of deities found amongst the Hindus of Sri Lanka and South India. The loss of Hindu influence within the temple complex has negatively affected the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu society. According to Paul Younger the Buddhist takeover was precipitated by the overwhelming participation of Buddhists in what are essentially Hindu rituals that worried the Buddhist establishment. There is a strong political and religious pressure to further modify the temple rituals to conform within an orthodox Theravada Buddhist world view.