Thursday, December 31, 2009

'Puhul pahans' at Ranwela Dewala, Meethirigala, Sri Lanka.


In the old days there was a ferry crossing of the Kelany Ganga at Meethirigala. The crossing took one from 'Siyana Korale' in the Gampaha District to the 'Hewagam Korale' in Avissawella district at this point. In ancient days they would core out a few 'puhul gedis' fill them with oil, insert a wick and light it. They would send these floating in the Kelany Ganga on a special day, as an offering to Ranwela Deviyo. At present they use a banana stem and the ola leaves are decorated to look like a 'puhul gediya'. You can see these lamps in the picture