Sri Lanka’s Kataragama Esala Festival begins with vibrant nightly processions
Devotees gathered in the southern Sri Lankan town of Kataragama as the annual Esala Festival entered its second night, blending faith, tradition and vibrant ritual processions.
Worshippers assembled in Kataragama for one of Sri Lanka’s most significant pilgrimage festivals, offering flowers and prayers as the Esala celebrations got under way. Footage shows paths covered in petals as dancers, drummers and decorated elephants moved in procession, marking the start of a series of 15 nightly events at the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya. Each evening, sacred relics are carried along Perahera Street to the Valli Amma Devalaya before returning to the main shrine.
The festival draws pilgrims from multiple faiths, including Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Indigenous Vedda communities, as well as Pada Yatra devotees who travel on foot to reach the sacred town. The celebrations will culminate in the Maha Perahera on 29 July, followed by traditional rituals including a pre-dawn fire-walking ceremony. The festival is set to conclude on 30 July with the Diya Kapeema, a symbolic water-cutting ritual held in the Menik Ganga.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
