Since 1874, people have celebrated the Adi Vel festival, also known as the Vel festival in English and Adi Vel Vazha in Tamil. The famous Kataragama festival, which takes place in the Tamil month of Adi (July), is linked to its significance. At the sacred temple of Kataragama, which is situated in the southern region of the island, pilgrims from all across Sri Lanka come together. In the past, pilgrims had to go on foot pilgrimages, or “Paatha Yathra,” to go to the holy place because there wasn’t much transportation available. The Vel Chariot festival Colombo takes place in parallel to the festival in Kataragama.
Table of Contents
- Hinduism
- Origin of Hinduism in Sri Lanka
- Pilgrimage on foot
- Role of Chettiar community
- Distinctions from festivals
- Temple festivities
- Spectacle culture
Hinduism
Hinduism played a significant role in ancient Sri Lanka, as evidenced by the several names that have been traditionally attached to the island, including Sivaboomi, Iswaraboomi, and Kuberaboomi. Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is a thriving metropolis today, with a major seaport that has been essential to international trade and cross-cultural interactions.
Origin of Hinduism in Sri Lanka
For many years, a variety of populations, particularly the Tamil people moving from South India, have used Colombo’s port as a gateway. The Nattukottai Chettiar community, renowned for their financial acumen and cultural diversity, was one of them. No matter where they lived, the Tamil community made sure that their unique artistic, cultural, and religious traditions were preserved. Most notably, they introduced Colombo to the Adi Vel festival, a well-known Hindu event that has grown to be a feature of the city’s cultural calendar.
Since 1874, people have celebrated the Adi Vel festival, also known as the Vel festival in English and Adi Vel Vazha in Tamil. The famous Kataragama festival, which takes place in the Tamil month of Adi (July), is linked to its significance. At the sacred temple of Kataragama, which is situated in the south coast of Sri Lanka, pilgrims from all across Sri Lanka come together. In the past, pilgrims had to go on foot pilgrimages, or “Paatha Yathra,” to go to the holy place because there wasn’t much transportation available.
Pilgrimage on foot
These foot pilgrimages, which attract participants from the Northern and Eastern Provinces as well as other areas, frequently start two to two and a half months prior to the festival. Participating in these spiritual pilgrimages to Kataragama were groups from the Colombo region like as the Nattukottai Chettiar and Vellalar.
Respected in Sri Lanka, Lord Murugan is also called Kathiresan, Kathirvelauthan, or Kataragama Deviyo among Buddhists. The Kataragama celebration represents the union of Lord Murugan with Goddess Valli, the daughter of the Vedduva ruler, and his triumph over evil. At the Kataragama temple, devotees of all religions—Hindus and Buddhists in particular—offer respect to Lord Murugan.
Nevertheless, a terrible cholera outbreak that ravaged the nation in 1874 ruined the celebration and presented serious difficulties for both the pilgrims and the country.
In 1874, the government forbade pilgrims from taking part in the Kataragama celebration due to the cholera outbreak. Along Galle Road, they came to a stop next to three prominent temples today. Disappointed, the pilgrims abandoned their Kaavadis at the Maddams, which are now the temples of Bambalapitiya, and stayed there for a long time, feeling resentful and depressed. According to legend, Lord Murugan showed up in a dream and gave the followers hope that a more easily accessible version of the Kataragama celebration would one day be held in Colombo at the same time. Two Kathiresan temples in Bambalapitiya were built as a result of this vision; they were thereafter dubbed the “Upaya Kataragama temples.”
Role of Chettiar community
The Chettiar community in Colombo was given the responsibility of managing the old and new Kathiresan (Kathirvelautha) temples. In conjunction with the yearly Kataragama festival, the Vel festival was staged in the city with their collaboration. The term “vel” means “spear,” and Lord Murugan is holding a spear in his right hand. Hindu epics state that Goddess Parvathi gave her second son, Lord Murugan, the spear so he might defeat evil.
The event is currently called the Vel Festival. The Vel spear is cherished in the sanctum of several Murugan temples across the world in place of Lord Murugan’s statue. The celebration included a procession of the goddess Valli Amman. The ceremony of cutting the water at Kataragama is held on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Adi.
Distinctions from festivals
The Colombo Vel festival and the Kataragama festival differ significantly from one another. The Yantra is performed in a procession at the Kataragama festival, while the idols of Murugan and his two consorts are paraded during the Vel festival in Colombo.
It’s still unclear what year the Vel festival first took place. It started out in Pettah’s Old Kathiresan temple, also known as the Kathhirvelautha Swamy temple. The Old and New Kathiresan temples are overseen by different administrative groups and were built in various years. Nonetheless, each temple has its own Vel chariot, and they both organize the festival of Vel chariots.
Three different kinds of Vel chariots are utilized during the Vel festival, and they are connected to six different temples located across Colombo.
The Sri Sammangodu Manika Vinayagar Temple on Galle Road in Bambalapitiya, Colombo, is the destination of the Kaavadi Chariot procession, which starts at the Sri Sammangodu Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple on First Cross Street in Pettah, Colombo 11. The Golden Chariot and the Silver Chariot, which commence at the New Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple and the Old Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple on Chettiar Street in Pettah, are the two other principal chariots of the event. In Bambalapitiya, both chariots arrive at their respective locations along Galle Road.
Every year, the Silver Vel chariot replaces the Golden Chariot during the parade. The two chariots are paraded in succession. Apart from these, there’s also the yearly Kaavadi Chariot Festival, which concludes at the Sri Sammangodu Manika Vinayagar Temple in Bambalapitiya after starting at the Sri Sammangodu Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple in Pettah. One day prior to the Golden or Silver Vel Chariot Festival, the Kaavadi Chariot, a wooden construction containing the gods of Lord Murugan and his two consorts, begins its journey.
Temple festivities
For four days, the gods are housed at the Sri Sammangodu Manika Vinayagar Temple. The festival’s centerpiece is the water-cutting ceremony, which takes place at the Wellawatte sea on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Adi. The chariot returns to the First Cross Street Temple after this event. A tractor pulls the Kaavadi Chariot, which has been traveling the same path for many years.
The gods spend three nights at Sri Sammangodu Manika Vinayagar Temple, where traditional performances are given by musicians from Thavil and South Indian Natheswaram. The temple feeds all of the devotees for free during the celebration. Only the Vel spear is removed and submerged in the water during the water-cutting celebration, drawing followers from all across the island to the Wellawatte sea near Marine Drive. The yearly Kaavadi Chariot Festival ends with this event.
The chariot travels Wellawatte Marine Drive via Charlemont Road. It stops for five or six hours at Galle Face Green before making its way back to the First Cross Street Temple in the dusk of the next day. It passes down Sea Street in the early morning, circles Pettah, and returns, just before noon, to the Sri Sammangodu Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple.
The Silver Chariot from the New Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple or the Golden Vel Chariot from the Old Kathirvelautha Swamy Temple on Chettiar Street, Pettah, are paraded every other year. Two snow-white bulls pull these chariots, which change every year. About eight miles separate the Kathiresan Temples in Bambalapitiya from Chettiar Street in Pettah, with a new bull every mile. The enthusiasts from the Chilaw region provide these bulls.
Spectacle culture
Traditional temple musicians leading the procession create a melodic and religious ambiance with their renditions of Natheswaram and Thavil. Devotees perform in front of the chariot and sing devotional bhajans behind it, creating a captivating divine atmosphere for onlookers. Over the course of the four-day Vel celebration, believers, locals, and business owners line the streets to pay their homage during the procession.
To greet the chariot, people prepare Mandapapadi and Purnakumbham. Many also perform Panneer Kaavadi, Pushpa Kaavadi, and Anna Kaavadi in order to fulfill promises. For hours, throngs of people from both sides of the street assemble to pay their respects. The Vel chariots, dressed with yellow lights, fresh flower garlands, palm leaves, thoranam decorations, and banana trees with luscious yellow bananas, are greeted by members of the Hindu and Buddhist communities standing together. The gods are kept at the Upaya Kataragama Temples, where poojas and organized religious rites are carried out. For the water-cutting ceremony for the Golden and Silver chariots, holy water from the Menik Ganga was once transported, but this custom has since been abandoned. The water-cutting ceremony is held today at Kataragama, notably at the Menik Ganga, on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Adi. Idumpan, the guardian deity, is given special honors in the Vel procession. As a symbolic guardian, Idumpan is paraded in front of the Vel chariot, and a final pooja honoring this deity marks the conclusion of the Vel celebration.
Regretfully, the Colombo Vel Festival is not happening in Colombo this year owing to unforeseen circumstances.