Annual walk of faith to Kataragama

Despite security concerns islandwide, the ancient tradition of Pada Yatra continues to attract devotees

Ardent devotees from the northern and eastern districts assembled last month at Verugal Kataragama Devale on the Trincomalee-Batticaloa district border. On June 26, they recited their vows and headed south, echoing the pilgrims’ spirited cry of ‘Haro Hara!’ all the way to Kataragama.

The month-long trek will reach Kataragama on July 26 to coincide with the Esala festival flag hoisting ceremony, said Living Heritage Chairman Manik Sandrasagra, announcing details of the annual Kataragama Pada Yatra or coastal foot pilgrimage to God Skanda’s shrine in the far south. They were in Mandur, as this edition went to press.The Pada Yatra this year started from the famous Murugan temple at Verugal, rather than from Jaffna or Mullaitivu or Trincomalee as in years past. This was due to mass evacuation of villagers from the Muttur vicinity. At Verugal alone some 700 villagers are living in tents as refugees. For many the Pada Yatra is a lifetime opportunity to visit and worship ancient remote shrines from the north to south in the company of veteran devotees. Their long-trek takes them via Verugal and Kathiraveli to famous ancient temples at Sittandy, Mamangam, Kokkatichcholai and Mandur in the Batticaloa district. Through the Ampara district they follow the coast via Pottuvil and Okanda through Yala National Park to reach Kataragama.

Since 1988 the Living Heritage-affiliated Kataragama Devotees Trust has annually organised the Pada Yatra by notifying societies and temples all along the east coast. This facilitates dana, the ritual offering of food and hospitality, which is essential to the pilgrims, since most are poor and none can carry food for weeks.

Kataragama Pada Yatra pilgrims on July 4 crossed Kallady Bridge at the mouth of Batticaloa Lagoon. The pilgrims wear traditional pilgrim's dress and go barefoot across jungles and hot roads. Yet most enjoy the experience so much that they walk in the Yatra year after year.

All along the route, villagers await their chance to offer annadanam to the growing bands of pilgrims, who are mostly in their 50s, 60s and 70s – and a few even in their 90s.

Some pilgrims may be seen carrying the God’s bright red and yellow cock banner. Others wave peacock feathers, while senior swamis bear aloft the vel or lance, the symbol of the God’s invincibility.

Traditional dress
Traditional pilgrims wear authentic pilgrim’s dress only: vettis and shawl for men, saris for women. Trousers, shirts, or shoes are considered unacceptable dress for pilgrims. Pilgrims sleep out of doors at night or in temples, but not in private homes.

Elder pilgrims, especially, enjoy the respect of villagers and pilgrims alike, who consider them as treasuries of age-old oral traditions. Consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited. Many villagers take vows to join the Pada Yatra, as it passes through their own villages, so the parties of pilgrims tend to grow, as they proceed from village to village. With weeks still remaining before the flag-hoisting ceremony on July 26, hundreds of pilgrims are expected to join the bands of pilgrims, as they pass through the Batticaloa and Ampara districts.

Revival

The age-old tradition of Pada Yatra fell into abeyance with the 1983 civil disturbances, but was revived in 1988 under the Kataragama Devotees Trust patronage. The number of pilgrims had been growing steadily. In 2004 Wildlife Department officials counted over 30,000 pilgrims entering the Yala East National Park on the final 100-kilometre stretch before Kataragama.

This year due to security concerns fewer pilgrims are expected. Living Heritage has also developed a website for Kataragama devotees at www.Kataragama.org (Dead Link). Even the Pada Yatra now has its own website at www.PadaYatra.org (Dead Link).

“We are a network of devotees from all over the world,” says Sandrasagra, noting that the popular website also plays a role in attracting foreign devotees and international media, including The Discovery Channel.

Even today in neighboring countries like India, religious processions and pilgrimages are sources of communal friction and even violence. But the Kataragama Pada Yatra is a source of consensus and communal harmony, a fact that Sri Lankans may reflect upon and be grateful for.