CHILAW, SRI LANKA, August 9, 2011 (Daily News): The annual month-long Hindu Festival at the Shri Munneswaram temple dedicated to Lord Shiva begins with a flag-hoisting ceremony. Starting on August 16, the festival lasts for 28 days during August and September, with processions and ceremonies held daily. Munneswaram is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sri Lanka.
After the water-cutting ceremony at Deduru Oya on the final day, a wooden chariot carrying the Deity, drawn by two white bulls, adorned with silk and garlands, is escorted in procession through the streets of Chilaw town, with the beating of drums, playing of flutes and Kavadi dancing. Celebrations are held till late at night and into the early hours of the morning. Then the chariot returns to the temple square, and Munneswaram hamlet goes back to its perennial slumber till the ensuing year.
A day-by-day list of the festival events can be seen at Source.