Kataragama

God of Kataragama: Skanda

**What world religion is this pilgrimage a part of?** Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians all make a pilgrimage to Kataragama. Buddhists come to visit a mound on a site where Buddha meditated. Muslims come to pray at a local mosque. Hindus associate Kataragama with the Hindu war deity Skanda. For all these reasons many different religions are drawn to this pilgrimage site. Also, the unusual traditions that take place here draw extra attention to the site.

Origional name: Kajara-Gama, meaning "The Village flourishing with paddy fields"
 * What is the history of the pilgrimage?**

The Buddhist Kiri Kevera was built by the King Mahasena. In the 6th century, Buddha met the King Mahasena who ruled over the Kataragama area in 580 BC. Buddhists believe that this sanctified Kataragama. The King met the Lord Buddha and listened to the Buddha's discourse and as a token of gratitude, the Dogoba was built on that exact spot where it now stands One of the shoots of the Bo Tree was planted over 2,300 years ago and is planted at Kataragama and is worshiped by Buddhists.
 * Buddhism**

Hindus refer to Kataragama as Katirkamam and visit there for the large shrine dedicated to the Lord Katirkaman. Lord Katirkaman is shown with either with six faces and twelve hands. This is representative of the feudal government he established. The 6 faces represent the 6 squads of spies he had and the 12 hands represent the 12 sub-divisions of spies. The spies were to gain knowladge of the government of Sinhala. After the leader of the government died, the diety devoted his life to helping the remaining people.  Out of love for the gods, to get rid of bad karma, and to reach a higher state, hindus pierce their cheeks and tongues, pull large chariots carrying murthi of Murugan with large hooks that have been pierced through the skin of their backs. This practice is known as kavadi. media type="youtube" key="aoRjJzTSHL0" height="385" width="480" There is a river in Kataragama called Manika Gangai or "River of Gems". A bath is taken by hindus to purify themselves while on the pilgrimage. They believe that you can be healed by bathing in the river.
 * Hinduism**[[image:800px-Kataragama_entrance.jpg]]

Muslim's connect Kataragama with Al-Khidr or "The Green One". There is controversy about who he was. Some say he is a prophet while others say he is a "wali" meaning one who is close to God or saint. People claim to have see him frequently appear at Kataragama. When Christians visit Kataragama, they often take part in a mass and the Eucharist.
 * Islam**
 * Christianity**

The pilgrimage to Kataragama begins with thousands of Buddhists and Hindus travelling to the town of Kataragama. The ultimate goal of partaking in numerous offerings and practices is to seek the protection of God Skanda. Once both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims have reached Kataragama, they are advised to take a dip in the Menik Ganga as a way of cleansing themselves. The services begin with puja offerings to the temple of the elephant-headed brother Ganapati. These offerings consist mainly of fruit, which each individual hands to kapurala or is the deity in charge and his assistants who traditionally dress in all white. They take the offerings inside the temple and later return a portion to the devotee. One of the primary reasons that pilgrims visit Kataragama is to be healed of illnesses. Devotees apply coconut oil from one of the tall brass lamps that hangs outside the temple to the top of their heads. At this time, the kapulara applies ash to the forehead of the devotee. This symbolizes that the devotee is now protected. Because most of the pilgrims travel to Kataragama by foot, the journey is said to be a dangerous one. This has generated a feeling of fear among the devotees. In order to lessen this fear, the ‘nade gura’ or head of the pilgrim party sets down a code of conduct. This consists of strict guidelines, which include; everyone must be vegetarian, alcohol is forbidden, and everyone must watch what they say while they are in the land of the gods. The main difference between the pilgrimage of a Buddhist and a Hindu to Kataragama is that Buddhists conduct their own meditative services while Hindus practice fire-walking and self-penance. To the Hindus, fire-walking is the highlight of the Kataragama festival. There is no strict way of getting across the burning logs however some devotees walk slowly in order to fulfill a vow made to the Lord Kataragama. The most extreme form of penance done by Hindus consists of individuals hanging from silver hooks or walking on nail hooks. These acts are commonly done by men who feel that they are performing acts of self-sacrifice to prove how truly devoted they are to the Gods.
 * What does the pilgrimage entail? Where do they go? What do they do?**

Thousands of people go on this pilgrimage each year. The majority of the pilgrims are Hindus and Buddhists as both religions have the biggest history there and the largest shrines and places of worship.
 * Who goes on it? What statistics can you find on the participants? What are their demographics?**

 The pilgrimage that takes place in Kataragama, Sri Lanka is home to three different religions. Thousands of Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims make the journey to Kataragama each year, demonstrating their intense devotion to their gods. The pilgrimage is called the Pada Yatra meaning foot pilgrimage and incorporates many trying and tolerance-testing rituals with the purpose of reaching a higher spiritual state. Outsiders very often misunderstand the Kataragama pilgrimage. Those who have studied Kataragama often come to the conclusion that the only way to really understand the practice is to be a participant. Some of the common rituals include fire-walking and suspending one’s body by hooks. They are performed with the goal of reaching a state of true spirituality, past pain and suffering. Because there are three different religions connected to this site, the reasons for going vary. “The ostensible purpose of the march, they say, is to honour traditions of Kataragama Pada Yatra and pass them on to younger generations.”(The Sunday Times of Sunday, July 19, 2009) This pilgrimage is one full of tradition and is one of the oldest pilgrimages in Sri Lanka. Pilgrims participate in “a spirit of humility, becoming a part of a unified chorus for human unity.” (http://padayatra.org/oldest-tradition.htm). They make the 45 day journey on the jungle trails of Kataragama, stopping in villages along the way, gaining wisdom from discussions with experienced elders. Participants make the pilgrimage looking for ‘peace and reconciliation’, derived from their main beliefs. Elders, with an entirely self-less attitude, enjoy passing on their knowledge and continuing the tradition. Referring to Pada Yatra, the Foreign Affairs Minister Tyronne Fernando has said it “is a symbol of Sri Lanka’s living heritage and, moreover, is a traditional teaching instrument, where the elder pilgrims become the storytellers.” (Sian Woodcock, Ceylon Daily News of Friday 26 April, 2002) Participants go on the pilgrimage to pay respects to the god Kataragama and the Diety Skanda. Pilgrims attempt to reach the “sacred center”, a combination of one’s inner and outer self. The role of the Spirit at Kataragama is what “transforms pada yatra from a mere walking journey into the experience of spiritual passage through a maze of subtle dimensions that escape the attention of non-participant observers.”(http://kataragama.org/research/kailasa.htm). The Kataragama Pada Yatra attracts two different “types” of people. There are pilgrims there to experience the long journey and to achieve a higher spiritual state and there are others there more for the tourism than the religious aspects of the pilgrimage. This site has been around since ancient times, “inherited from the island’s indigenous forest-dwellers, the Wanniya-laeto or Veddas,” and while it may have started off with solely devout religious pilgrims, with time and modern inventions, inevitably it had to expand to the curious, touristy minds (http://kataragama.org/research/kailasa.htm). Nowadays, with cars and airplanes, many pilgrims have easy access to the Kataragama site and simply attend the festival rather than experience the extremely long journey by foot. Unfortunately with time the most devout pilgrims or swamis have passed on and therefore the number going barefoot and singing throughout the long journey has disintegrated. Those going no longer receive passed on wisdom and stories of the journey from elder, experienced pilgrims. Pilgrims often take part in the Kataragama festival in which they perform many rituals and make promises of abstinence and to challenge themselves.
 * Why do they go on the pilgrimage? What are the historical and contemporary reasons?**



The Kataragama pilgrimage in Sri Lanka connects to the faiths of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Muslim. An important belief of Buddhism is that all negative states can be overcome by the practice of meditation. The ritual of body suspension by hooks at the Kataragama site is symbolic of this type of meditation. Another similar ritual is that of fire-walking. It is the practice of putting yourself in physical pain and attaining the spiritual liberation that releases you from your pain. It means that regardless of your feelings and your physical state, it is possible to achieve a higher state of concentration which goes beyond and reaches a new, higher level of consciousness.
 * How does it connect to the faith? What important beliefs does it express?**

The goal in basic Hindu beliefs is that you eventually reach Nirvana, which is salvation. One form of achieving salvation is through devotion. Self-surrendering is a way for common followers of the Hindu faith to approach their religion in a very personal way. Surrendering to the gods and goddesses of Hinduism can be practiced through the acts of worship and rituals, including the pilgrimage to Kataragama. The seemingly strange rituals that take place at Kataragama are in fact seen as a form of devotion. It is important in both the Hindu and Buddhist faiths to reach a new state of consciousness, to realize our true identity. Deep meditation is the correct path to reach this state.

In Islamic tradition, the Kataragama shrine is the location where the prophet Moses traveled to find higher teachings from the Servant of Allah. The journey to Kataragama gives the Islam followers the chance to be close to their prophet, significant in their faith teachings.



Work Cited: 1. "Kataragama". Visit Sri Lanka. 5/15/10 . 2. "Kataragama". Kataragama.org the Kataragama-Skanda website. 5/11/10  3. "Aliens descend on Kataragama". Sunday Times. 5/17/10 . 4. "The Annual Festival in the South." The Sunday Times. 2 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 May 2010. .