Perceptions on the Kataragama Pada Yatra
Photo courtesy of Nissokarama Vihara
As I write this piece thousands of people are on a 100 kilometre trek through the country, crossing the deep wilderness of Kumana and Yala national parks. Although starting points vary, most will find their journey ending under the shade of the Kataragama Devalaya. This is the final leg of a two month long Pada Yatra (foot pilgrimage) across the length of the country.
I was at the Yala National Park early July last year conducting a multisite research on how local stakeholders perceive the relationship between tourism and nature. The stakeholders I spoke to came from diverse backgrounds including government officials, tourism operators, conservationists, residents and religious leaders.
This article seeks to capture the range of considerations voiced by those I encountered and underscore modern complexities at the intersection of conservation, tourism and everyday life. The views shared here reflect the truths held by specific actors – truths that may not be universal. Yet in fields like tourism and conservation, which depend heavily on behaviour and belief, such subjective understandings are just as critical.
A journey of beliefs, diversity and resilience
The origin of the Pada Yatra is deeply intertwined with history, myth and religion. It is a pilgrimage dedicated to a religious figure whose abode is modern day Kataragama. This figure holds space in many belief systems practiced in Sri Lanka. God Murugan, the predominant figure, is also known as Kataragama Deiyo (Sinhala), Skandakumara and Karthikeya (Tamil), Kande Yaka (Vadda people) and Vanniya (people of Vanni). Muslims also pay homage to al-Khidir in Kataragama. The pilgrimage is to be conducted on foot, surrendering oneself to the elements.
Patrick Harrigan notes that while pilgrim accounts of the Pada Yatra are scarce, colonial records refer to the practice and pilgrims such as Yogaswami of Nallur and Palkuti Bawa have made the pilgrimage across the 19th and early 20th century. With brief disruptions, these pilgrimages continued throughout the 30 year civil war amid military activity taking place across the route, aided by institutions such as the Kataragama Devotees Trust and at times the explicit support from both the government and the LTTE.
The Pada Yatra experienced a rapid increase since the ending of the war in 2009, with last year recording over 32,000 pilgrims. The Pada Yatra is permitted to cross Kumana and Yala during a designated window of time. This year, the Kumana gate will be open from June 20 until July 4 for pilgrims.
Pada Yatra and national parks
The final leg of Pada Yatra is the focus of this article because it interacts with two Protected Areas (PA), Kumana and Yala National Parks (NPs). The objective of demarcating PAs is to preserve nature, ecosystems and cultural values for people. Declared under the provisions of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO), NPs such as Kumana and Yala permit regulated access for scientific, educational, recreational and aesthetic uses.
However, lands within PAs have histories extending well beyond their protected status. Kumana and Yala have seen human activity for millennia. The PA boundaries as we know today originate from a British colonial sportsmen’s reserve that hosted hunting for sport and a neighbouring game sanctuary facilitating replenishment of wildlife. Expanding boundaries of the colonial reserve may have displaced local users who engaged in shifting cultivation and hunting for livelihood, according to Tariq Jazeel.
Religious activities are a surviving historical use within Yala. In addition to Pada Yatra, the Situlpawwa Temple and the Kebiliththa Dewalaya are two religious sites in Yala attracting visitors. Active religious practices within PAs are not unique to Yala (for example, the Pallenkandal Shrine in Wilpattu National Park) or indeed to Sri Lanka (for example, pilgrimages in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in India and Mount Wutai in China). There is an inherent tension in such situations as the objective of a PA is to maintain a perceived state of nature while religious activities are often geared towards growth. This tension could also be seen across the following considerations raised by stakeholders I met.
Changing profiles of pilgrims
One interviewee highlighted a sentiment that many others shared. “Pada Yatra used to be a pilgrimage of devotion. Now people go for the Pada Yatra for the fun of it.” They distinguish traditional devotees (often referred to as swamis) from casual travellers. Such distinctions matter because the practices of devotees hardened by the elements and guided by their faith, are perceived to cause less environmental stress than casual travellers who require more supporting infrastructure.
What makes a Pada Yatra devotee different to a more casual traveller? For most devotees, the pilgrimage is intrinsically linked to their relationship with God Murugan such as receiving a call, fulfilling a vow or respecting a cultural obligation. However, such relationships may not be the exclusive objective of participants. Local and foreign researchers and filmmakers have done the pilgrimage, producing insightful accounts. An interviewee mentioned that they took part in the Pada Yatra to scope opportunities for camping inside Yala. Many casual travellers take part in the Pada Yatra as tourists, enjoying the rare privilege of being able to walk across two national parks surrounded by the deep spirituality of the devotees.
Infrastructure stresses and pollution
The last leg of the Pada Yatra through Kumana and Yala is the most demanding given harsh environment and lack of food and water. Until this point, pilgrims receive access to supplies from communities and institutions along the route. Interestingly, Sunil Goonesekera observed a temporary family run kiosk operating within the park during the Pada Yatra, sourcing all material from outside. This kiosk was the only source to replenish supplies within the park. The severe condition of pilgrims who emerge out of Yala has inspired a practice of setting up dansals (alms giving) of cooked food outside the park.
What featured in my discussions was the recent practice of organising dansals within Yala. One interviewee stated that “Pada Yatra has been happening for hundreds of years without dansal being given inside the park. Now Pada Yatra has become a fashionable thing to do.” Offerings from these dansals range from cooked meals to soft drinks. Ben Vicchiet observes that the ability to organise a dansal for the Pada Yatra is held in high social esteem, especially among Sinhala Buddhist circles. Echoing this account, stakeholders I spoke to highlighted increasing visits by religious and political elite such as monks, high ranking military officials and politicians (often in luxury vehicles) to the dansal.
Many interviewees identified dansals within the park as a tipping point in Pada Yatra’s growth and its relationship with the park ecosystem. Lahiru Prakash provides a detailed description of the conservation implications from the involvement of such activities. Four critical impacts emerge through such accounts. Firstly, dansals exert significant infrastructure stress to the ecosystem using large tents and heavy transportation vehicles. Secondly, dansals within the park are linked to an increase in casual travellers. The easier access to food, water and other supplies reduces the hardships along the jungle route, encouraging more travellers. But more detrimentally, some dansal organisers and officials themselves are perceived to exploit the privilege of having overnight access to the park and engage in disruptive leisure activities. Thirdly, such dansals exacerbate pollution within the park. Finally, stakeholders note that increased provision of cooked food and fruits by dansals tend to attract wild animals.
However some people welcomed the dansals as a symbol of unity and a respite for weary travellers and noted the considerable efforts made to reduce pollution. Pollution and the infrastructure stresses from the Pada Yatra are not limited to the dansals within the park. Infrastructure activities within the park begin (i.e. cleaning of wells for incoming pilgrims) and continue for months after the Pada Yatra is concluded as government and private sector actors collect wind carried garbage spread throughout the park.
A Pada Yatra rooted in the natural
An interviewee said “Sometimes, these pilgrims do not even accept the food that is donated to them because the point of the pilgrimage is for them to do these things on their own and to experience these hardships.” While it is unlikely that all pilgrims share this sentiment, accounts do emphasise how the Pada Yatra is meant to be an austere experience where one surrendered themselves to the uncertainties of the journey. For some swamis, it is “In the very middle of the forest (yala), devoid of everything except the rice and lentils that they carry in, that devotees expressed a contentment, an existential happiness, a philosophical and cosmological peace, that is not seen or replicated at such levels anywhere else during the Pada Yatra.”
Pada Yatra traditions display a deep respect for nature. This is heightened within the park, since God Murugan possesses the ability to morph into both human and natural forms. This respect is not exclusive to devotees. I came across an emphasis on respecting the nature of the park in sentiments shared online and on Facebook groups by many casual travellers of the pilgrimage.
The Pada Yatra has drawn attention to conservation issues within the park. Pilgrims have encountered illicit logging and poaching activities, offenders at times being local government officials themselves.
Pada Yatra and tourism
The Pada Yatra itself has been marketed as a tourism product with guided tours offered on segments of the journey through Kumana and Yala. Tourists also visit the Kataragama region during the festive season to experience the Pada Yatra and related cultural activities.
In contrast, some tourism operators perceive negative impacts from the Pada Yatra to eco-tourism activities such as safaris and camping taking place in the park. A tourism operator noted that “These days [during Pada Yatra], vehicles that enter from Katagamuwa will not see anything up to Varahana because of the number of people. Also, they throw garbage everywhere. We do not know how to explain that to a guest who has paid to stay in a campsite.”
Negative impacts from the Pada Yatra are linked to reduced wildlife sightings and increased pollution. Such stakeholders emphasise on how the expansion of Pada Yatra is impacting the pristine nature of the park. Some tourism actors operating within the park participate in efforts to clean up garbage generated during the Pada Yatra season. Furthermore, stakeholders highlight that regulations applicable to fee paying tourists (such as entry and exit times and being accompanied by a DWC approved guide) are not applicable to participants of Pada Yatra or dansal organisers.
Complexities of managing a shared space
These factors highlight the tensions between different aspirations held by users of a shared space. From the devout pilgrim and their spirituality, the dansal givers and their generosity, the elite actors and their social capital, the travellers and their curiosity and the conservationists and their love for nature to the authorities and the legal status of a PA, each actor envisions Kumana and Yala differently. What is clear is that no aspiration can expand without compromising others.
Some actors are regulating themselves and others to strike a balance. Historically authorities have taken various measures to reduce pollution and impact from the Pada Yatra including education, restriction and prohibition. Facebook groups show that drones carried by participants of this year’s Pada Yatra are being confiscated. However, stakeholders note that lack of enforcement and political influences impede effectiveness. Self-regulation can also be observed with formal efforts such as the Pada Yatra Guidelines and informal knowledge sharing, reporting and shaming of offenders among community operated Facebook groups. Other policy options such as banning dansal or providing only dry rations with the park and zoning the park with strict demarcations for religious uses were proposed by stakeholders.
At some point in the future, decisions will have to be made regarding these complexities. Given the highly politicised history of Yala, it is critical that these decisions go beyond the existing power asymmetries and are instead taken in the best interest of the ecosystems within Yala and the Pada Yatra devotees.
