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Jean-Marc Dauphin
1996 - 26 min - Vidéo - Couleur - France
Once a year, under the August moon, the city of Kandi, in Sri Lanka is invaded by hundreds of elephants which come down from the surrounding mountain, with their master, to take part in the most spectacular Asian festival, the "Perahera". In Singhalese, "Perahera" simply means procession. This is truly a procession which is unlike all others, for dating back 2,000 years, it lasts 10 nights. It gathers together, according to a specific rite and order, a succession of dancers, jugglers, drummers and sumptuously decorated elephants. One of them catches everyone's eye, "Mabjawa Tusker", a male with gigantic tusks. It is wearing a sacred relic, on its back, the tooth of Buddha, an enormous canine forever told in fantastic tales recovered in 1590 following many trials and tribulations.