Kataragama Pada Yatra & Esala festival
17 videos • 1,454 views • by Patrick Harrigan Pāda Yātrā: Foot Pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama The traditional two month long Pada Yatra or foot pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama annually in May-June-July is neither a peace march nor a political rally, but a traditional procession of village devotees who represent the rural voice of Sri Lanka. The Pada Yatra tradition is an essential part of Lanka's multi-cultural ethos. The Yatra begins with pilgrims moving from one sacred site to another, with their numbers growing as the Yatra progresses. See rare archival footage of the 1994 Pāda Yātrā from Trincomalee to Kataragama including the Kataragama Esala festival.