Raja (elephant)

Raja Atha ( Sinhalese රාජා ඇතා , as much as Prince Atha , * around 1913 - † July 16, 1988 ), also Maligawa Raja , was a Sri Lankan bull elephant , who last belonged to the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple in Kandy . He participated in the ceremonial esala festival for about 50 summers . For 37 years, Raja was the bearer of the shrine with the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha in the final Randoli perehera ( palanquin procession ). During his lifetime he was one of the most revered elephants in Asia and world famous for his “noble” behavior. On August 20, 1986, the then Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene declared Raja a National Treasure in recognition of his valuable service to the religion and culture of Sri Lanka.

Life

It is estimated that Raja was born around 1913 in the jungles of Eravur, Batticaloa district . The Muslim hunter Umaru Lebbe Panikkar and his people caught him and several other elephants in 1925. "Panikkar" is a name given to elephant hunters in the east of the country. Tikiribanda Mampitiya Dissawa from Giragama Walauwa in Kandy bought the young elephant together with the elephant Skanda for 3,300 rupees . With the permission of the British government, both elephants were transported by train to the Kadugannawa train station on December 11, 1925, and from there they came to the Giragama Walauwa. Arambegama Kirihamy was the Mahut of elephants. He raised the young elephants with the elephant cow, for which he was previously responsible. The elephant became a foster mother.

When the two elephants were around 24 years old, they were ceremonially given to Sri Dalada Maligawa. A deed of gift was drawn up and given to the Diyawadana Nilame (temple administrator) on August 22, 1937 by Mampitiya Dissawa . The Diyawadana Nilame of the temple was T. B. Ratwatte at the time. The elephants were trained to be temple elephants and were allowed to take part in the procession for the first time in the same year.

Temple service

The Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne with the elephants Raja, Skanda, Jaya Raja u. a.

Raja had the rare physical characteristics of the "Maha Gaja Lakshana" and thus belonged to the royal caste of the Sri Lankan elephants, the "Chaddhantha". When he was fully trained and since he seemed to be well suited to behavior, he became the bearer of the Buddha's tooth reliquary in the Esala Perahehra procession from 1950 . He was always obedient to his mahouts, approachable to the Buddhist priests and enjoyed spending time in the grounds of the Sri Dalada Maligawa.

The "noble bull elephant" (noble tusker) Raja served the temple for 50 years together with Skanda and other elephants. After Skanda died in 1986, Raja still took part in the 1987 procession. He died of an illness on July 16, 1988. He was succeeded by Heiyantuduwa Raja .

Honors

The government ordered a state mourning after his death. A stamp in his memory was issued on December 12, 1989 and the thousand rupee note was also printed with a picture of Raja and Umaru Lebbe Panikkar. The stuffed raja and other remains of him are exhibited in a museum on the temple grounds.