Tame more elephants!

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Just when we thought the voters had tamed the jumbos, punishing the Ali party (read the UNP) so severely that it is too shocked to fill its National List slot, representatives of our Maha Sangha met the President, requesting him to solve a huge problem facing them––a shortage of tamed elephants! One wonders why the President chose to preside over this meeting instead of taking action to solve the human-elephant conflict. This perennial problem has not only led to a large number of elephant deaths but also snuffed out the lives of many poor cultivators. About 70 humans and 200 elephants are killed every year.

What is the concern of our Maha Sangha? The President’s Media Division has said in a media statement: “The Maha Sangha has drawn the attention of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the issues that have emerged owing to the shortage of tamed elephants for Perahera ceremonies and stressed the requirement of a short term and long-term plan to address the issue.

“As the tradition of Perahera is an indigenous, religious and cultural heritage that has been inherited since ancient times, both the Maha Sangha and the government are responsible in upholding and preserving the Buddhist cultural heritage, they have stressed.”

Interestingly, there is no mention whatsoever of the communique that the delegation drew the attention of the President to the other, perhaps more important, issue––the human-elephant conflict.

Whilst the people are troubled by price hikes and some unscrupulous religious sects are targeting prominent Buddhists for unethical conversions as highlighted by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Maha Sangha seems more concerned about the dearth of elephants for processions! Or, were they persuaded by other interested parties? The Presiden’s Media Division statement says, “The Maha Sangha and the representatives of the Tamed Elephant Owners’ Association were present at the discussion”

Do they want the next major Pohottuwa project to be the reintroduction of the kraal system, which was abandoned in 1950? Perhaps, to the satisfaction of some of our Sangha, this cruel practice, started during the British Raj in 1896, would have been in existence even to date had it not been for the sacrifice made by the bull elephant immortalised by the beautiful song Panamure, Panamure Eth Raja by Sugathapala Malalasekara.

When 17 elephants were driven to the kraal, the majestic bull elephant, who was mating with the matriarch, refused to surrender and attempted to run through the stockade followed by others. The employees of Rate Mahattaya, Francis Molamure, shot him dead, resulting in a huge public outcry which forced the government of the day, to pass legislation banning elephant kraals, capture and killing of elephants. Do they want this law amended so that elephants could be tamed for processions.

The more important question is whether we need tamed elephants anymore? It is quite understandable that in the pre-mechanisation era, tamed elephants were needed to perform certain tasks that humans were not equal to. Man’s ingenuity has overcome these barriers and, today, there are machines for all purposes, making elephants redundant. Circuses too, have changed, not having animal performers like elephants any longer. Not so long ago, circuses exploited deformed humans too but with times they have changed,

Are elephants needed for Peraheras? Is “religious and cultural heritage that has been inherited since ancient times” a justification for the continuation of an act that can be construed as barbaric. Some elephants taking part in the Kandy Esala Perahera have to walk hundreds of kilometres, for days on end, before and after the procession. Is this not cruelty to animals? Would the Buddha ever have approved of this? Didn’t he ask us to have loving kindness towards all living beings?

Instead of elephants, we can have more groups of talented dancers, folk musicians, etc.,to enrich peraheras. A glance at numerous talent-shows broadcast over many TV channels demonstrates vividly that we are not short of talent. Of course, some grandees involved in managing the Temple of Tooth may have difficulties in allowing some dances as they are identified with the low-country, as one of them is reported to have said.

Among those listed as attending the meeting with the President was the Anunayaka of one of the Siyam Nikaya Chapters and a Professor Nayaka Thera. They should understand that value systems change. Disregarding the increasing recognition of animal rights, the world over, the request for the taming of elephants for processions demonstrates that they are concerned more about pomposity than the Buddhist values. What is inexcusable is that they do this in the name of ‘the Compassionate One’.