Sachintha Priyasanka

             Panama Ankeliya

       

Also know as Ankeliya is sinhala and kombu vilayyadu in Tamil. Ankeliya is a folk sport dedicated to the goddess pattini. When pattini and her husband, paalaga tried to break a white flower with the help of two cakes, their two cakes got stuck. They began to pull the two keys to outher side. Pattini was its winner. She was overjoyed. It was an insult to paalaga. Based on that event the Ankeliya game was born.

                  In Ankeliya there is pull between two groups of men. The group representing pattini is called Yatipila and the group representing paalaga is colled Udupila.

The entire village follows a vegetation policy during this 15 day Ankeli festival in August and the villagers malre sure that there is no pollution. Whomen who have given birth to new children and young women who hove reached puberty should be separated from the village boundary.

                      The first week of Ankeli is reserved for young people.It is called kolu ankeliya. The next 5 days are devoted to the support of olden men.It is called Maha ankeliya. No women is allowed to visit the temple during this Ankeli period which lasts for 12 days.

       The devalaya will be open to all on the 13th. On this day the villagers offer vows to God. On the evening of the 14,the statue of Goddess pattini is brought to the village. A beautiful altar is erected in every house to pay homeage to Goddess pattini.

Pattini goes from house to house until dawn the next day (15) and after retiring to all the houses, God return to the temple. This is followed by the procession of the deity to the beach to bathe or cut the water. (Diya kapiima)

The ankeli festival ends after a ritual called Diya kapima on the beach in panama.

Then all the activities of the Ankeli ceremony are over after the deity is brought to the temple.

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