Classroom lesson 路 Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth馃嚤馃嚢 Sri Lanka

Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth

A beautiful old city in the hills, with a famous golden-roofed temple

The white walls and golden roof of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Kandy is a city in the green hills of central Sri Lanka, built around a small lake. Right next to the lake is one of the most famous buildings in the country: the Temple of the Tooth. It is loved for its bright white walls, its golden roof, and the great pageant that takes place outside it every year.

Tell me more

Kandy was the last capital of the old Sinhalese kings. They chose it because it sits in the middle of steep, hard-to-cross hills - a natural castle. Today it is the second-biggest city in Sri Lanka, and you can climb up onto the hills to look down on it and the lake.

The Temple of the Tooth was built about 400 years ago. Its outer walls are bright white, decorated with carved patterns. The inner pavilion has a gleaming golden roof that shines in the sun. Around it are courtyards, small drum towers, and a moat full of fish.

Every summer, the temple is the centre of an enormous parade called the Esala Perahera. Dancers, drummers, fire-twirlers and dozens of decorated elephants walk through the streets at night. Some of the elephants wear costumes covered in thousands of small lights - they look like glowing castles walking down the road.

Kandy is also famous for its traditional dance, called 'Kandyan dance'. Dancers wear elaborate headdresses, big silver chest plates, and patterned skirts. They jump, spin and drum with their feet so hard that the whole stage seems to bounce.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might kings choose to build a capital city in the hills, where it's hard to reach?
  2. 02Lots of places have big parades. Why do you think people love them?
  3. 03What is one building near where you live that everyone in the area recognises? What makes it special?
Try this

Classroom activity

Design your own city parade. Each pupil sketches one parade element - a giant balloon, a dancer, a drummer, a flag-bearer, a costumed animal. Then line up the drawings on a long strip of paper to make a class parade.