5 July 2023 10:56 pm Views - 2422
There are people to raise their voices over sending ‘Muthu Raja’ or ‘Sak Surin’ to other country, but no one to raise their voices for the protection of the culture of the country, Anu Nayaka Thera of the Asgiri Chapter Venerable Anamaduwe Dhammadassi Thera said.
He said people used to come to see elephants, but no one knew where the elephants were coming from.
"During the past 100 years, the perahera culture has continued up to now without any disturbances. When compared to the past, the situation in the country has changed. The social environment has changed, and the appearance and behaviour of the people have also changed. There are issues with taking elephants on perahera processions, and there are also issues with getting dancing teams," he said.
"There is no one to see where the elephants are coming from or if there are any elephants left for perahera processions. People always love to see at least 100 or 200 elephants in a perahera. There are people who like to see elephants for other reasons than dancing activities in a perahera.
"Sometimes there are no elephants for Devale Peraheras. No elephants were provided for the peraheras as requested. But the people are in the mindset that there should be a large number of elephants in a perahera," the thera said. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)