2-981-773 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Prince giving sugar-cane to the elephants at the rehearsal of the Perahara, Kandy, Ceylon, from a sketch by one of our special artists, 1876. The future King Edward VII on a royal visit to India. 'The animals were richly caparisoned, and wore coloured hoods or masks with round holes trimmed with gold braid, and looking like big eyes, changing entirely the expression of the elephant's face. Upon arriving opposite the Prince the great beasts wheeled slowly round in line, and knelt down in salutation before the Prince. Upon their rising he bent forward, patted them, and gave them pieces of sugarcane'. The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth, is a festival held in July and August. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, which is housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.