Northern Tamils join religious festivities in the south

Northern Tamils join religious festivities in the south
5 Jul 2010 - 14:41
Bringing memories of the friendship that existed with the South, people of the North and the East have started arriving in the Kataragama sacred area on a “Pada Yatra” for the annual July festival It has been the tradition of the people in the North and East to participate in the annual religious functions being held at the Kataragama Devale.Katharagama god is a combination of two spiritual gods. Kadira Deva and Skanda Kumar worshiped as one god. The other most breath taking event performed at kathragama is the fire walking. Fire working is done by the day previous to the conclusion of the great Perehera in which the image of the god is taken to the temple of Valli Amma to symbolize his reunion with the sensuous Valli.The Ruhunu Kataragama Devalaya began its annual festival of activities on July 03 and the festivities will continue until the ‘Water Cutting’ Ceremony on July 19.They arrived in the Kataragama sacred area on short routes from their home towns. Due to terrorist activities that prevailed during the recent past, people in the North and East had stopped this practice.Using the new found freedom, they have started arriving in Kataragama on jungle paths.Tamil populations from Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara have joined the “Pada Yatra” promoting brotherhood with the people in the South. Courtesy:news.lk