| cultural surrounding of Mahiyangana |
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Maha Raja Viharaya - Mahiyangana Temple
The January Fullmoon Day marks the Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka over 25 centuries ago,
nine months after His Enlightenment. On this occasion He visited Mahiyangana to restore peace
among the warring Yakkha, one of the legendary tribes at the time.
According to the chronicle, the Buddha arrived in the beautiful Mahanaga park on the right bank
of the Mahaweli River. Noticing a stranger in yellow robes appearing in their midst,
the Yakkhas fled to the nearby jungles. But they were rather surprised as alarmed and a few of them
returned and listened to the Buddha's discourse, having laid aside their weapons and paying reverence to Him.
To memorize his visit, the people have built this monument with the huge stupa. |
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It is the historic most significant stupa, because it was the very first one in Sri Lanka.
The wall paintings inside the temple are telling chronologically the development of the building.
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Dambana
is a jungle area 16 km east of Mahiyangana, where the natives of Sri Lanka, "the Veddas" are living.
As one of the oldest tribes of Asia, they call themselves "Wanniya laeto " (forest people)
and retained their own religion, a kind of spirits cult. They wear their traditional weapons (axe, bow and arrow)
until today, although hunting became more difficult by settlement projects and
civilization influences. Today only a few remaining Veddas still manage to preserve their cultural identity.
Since they cannot exist anymore from hunting, they are cultivating fields and demonstrating their
traditional way of life for tourists. In the course of history, many of them have been
more or less absorbed into mainstream society.
The Nest maintains an extraordinary good relationship with the Veddas and recommends
an respectful behavior for visitors.
More information:
Internet: http://www.vedda.org/
Literature: The Veddas, C.G. and B.Z. Seligmann
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Mawaragala Monastry
is a long time abandoned hermitage at the edge of the jungle with a small temple,
which is recently used again for meditation and to study buddhism.
The buildings are belonging to the protected archeologic monuments.
Left: This image shows the youg Buddha (Siddhartha)
in his extreme hunger period, before His enlightment.
Right: Enormous natural rounded granite rocks are integrated in the architecture of a
simple building.
The skeleton of the chief adorns the main door.
The whole property offers many small surprises to the visitor.
Mawaragala Monastry is 10 km east of the Nest. |
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The Minipe Projekt, here the airduct, is part of the enormous Mahaweli
irrigation- and energy project, which should guarantee a sufficient supply to the surrounding
aera along the largest river of Sri Lanka. Doubtless, this enormous |
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Bodh Gaya Tempel This temple, which is located 1 km west of Mahiyangana
clock tower, direction Kandy, is a replication of a famous temple in North India. |
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technical major achievement brought many advantages - but also many drawbacks.
After finishing new dams, huge areas were flooded. This has led to resettlement,
particularly for the Veddas.
Irrigation systems were built in Sri Lanka centuries ago, but here the conflict between
technology and nature is very obvious. |
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In the garden, belonging to the the temple, you can find a statue of Buddha, protected
by a huge multihooded cobra, the so called " Muchalinda Naga Raajaya". |
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Wood carving belongs to the oldest traditions in Sri Lanka and has already been
practised by the native Veddas, whose skulptures are available in Dambana (see above).
The area between Kandy and Mahiyangana is famous for its high-quality, traditional handicraft.
The secret book is a high quality carving in shape of a book with a secret interior.
It can be opened in several "secret" steps and is perfect for hiding small private secrets
inside or to present small gifts inside. |
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