Devales - Sinhalese places of worship for Hindu deities
Natha Devale close to the Tooth Temple in Kandy
Most Sri Lankans are Buddhists, but apart from being follwers taking refuge in the Buddha, his teaching (Dharma), and his communities of monks and nuns (Sangha), they also worship to Hindu and local deities. This is not a contradiction in itself, because Buddhism is about liberation from this world, it's supramundane in a sense, whereas deities are beings that are powerful only within this world, intramundane. Gods and goddessed live entire cosmic eons, but they are neither eternal nor free from suffering, they belong to the circle of rebirths, the Sanskara. Human beings can be reborn as deities and the other way around. In a way, being a god is holding a high office in the world for a very long period of time, but it's not a substantial property of any specific individual being. Every being has a chance to become a god in a later life, at least in principle. And it's highly unlikely to become a god already in the next life. And as said, after having becoming a god one can become a human being or an animal or a ghost or even a sufferer in hell in one of the later lives. So gods are mighty beings who govern this world, but they have no means to help anyone to find a way to salvation. Granting liberation from rebirths in suffering is impossible for a god, the only way to salvation is that according to the Dharma of the Buddha. So following the Buddha for salvation and worshipping gods in worldly affairs is not a contradiction in itself.
In the case of Sri Lankan Buddhism, the connection of veneration of deities and faith in the Buddha and his teachings and his order is even more intimate, because the highest gods are considered to be guardians of Buddhism, one of their main tasks and ambitions is to protect the flourishing of Buddhist teachings and practices on the island.
Generally speaking, there are different levels of gods venerated by the Sinhalese, namely local deities, regional ones, and islandwide gods. However, there are no clearly marked drawings of boundaries between any two of these levels. The cult of a local deity can be known in one or the other distant village as well. And even the highest gods have specific regions where they are more predominant than others. Most significantly, Kataragama, the Sinhalese form of the Tamil god Murugan, is the guardian of the south of the islanf in particular. In recent dacades, there has been a tendency of holding higher gods in higher regard in everyday practices than in the past, when the cults of local deities were of much higher significance than today. Furthermore, there has always been a tendency to attribute the highest divine status to only four or sometimes five island-wide deities. Over the course of the centuries, however, this group of four consisted off different gods. For example, in early periods Saman, the guardian of Siri Pada (Adam's Peak) and Sabaragamuwa Province, was counted as one of the four highest gods. To be sure, Lord Saman is still of utmost significance in the said region and devotees from all parts of the island know him well and venerate him on pilgrimages to Siri Pada. However, since the Kandyan period, the circle of four supreme gods of Sinhalese Buddhists is a different one: Vishnu as former Upulvan, Kataragama known as Skanda to Hindus, Natha as a personification of a Bodhisattva, and Goddess Pattini introduced from South India, the cult of whom became popular already in the late middle ages and is popular on the local level, too. Cults of two of these deities are well established in Hinduism all over the world, namely Vishnu and Skanda. And it's these two that always belonged to the four highest deities venerated in Sri Lanka.
Foreigners should be aware, however, that though Sinhalese Buddhists venerate Hindu deities, it's not the same pantheon of gods as that of Tamils. Most importantly, Tamils in Sri Lanka usually regard Lord Shiva as supreme being also having the power of granting salvation. In contrast, for Sinhalese Buddhists Shiva plays almost no role in their religious practices, and for Buddhists, as said, no god can provide salvation. But in particular Vishnu and Skanda are venerated by both Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus, though not in the same way. For example, several Buddhists believe that the being that is now Vishnu will become a future Buddha. In other words, he is a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva veneration is alien to Hindus. The best way to understand the identity of some gods in both religions and their differences at the same time might be a reminder to Westerners, that in European antiquity Zeus and Jupiter or, as a second example, Artemis and Diana were regarded - or in the course of time identified - as the same deities, though Greeks and Romans did not share exactly the same ideas about their mythologies and relationships and functions and ways of worshipping them. Similarly, the veneration of Hindu deities in Buddhism is not the same as that in Hinduism. Generally speaking, the pantheon of deities worshipped by Buddhists resembles more that of Hindus of the Vedic rather than the Piranic period. And even more surprising, the pantheon of four highest deities venerated by Sinhalese Buddhists today resembles more that of ancient Tamils prior to Brahminasation. One could say, in this respect Sinhalese Budhists practice an older version of Tamil religion than Tamils themselves do. But don't tell this your new Tamil friends you will find on your journeyin Sri Lanka to avoid risks of insulting them or arguments about it. Nonetheless, it's true that ancient Tamils in South India venerated a pantheon of four highest deities and attributed different regions and also different colours to them, just like Sinhalese do till the present day.
Keeping the distinction of Sinhalese and Tamil worship of Hindu (plus local) deities in mind, you will understand that there are two different kinds of temples for sometimes the same gods in Sri Lanka. The places of Hindu worship are Kovils, which is a Tamil word. But the places where Sinhalese Buddhists worship deities (many of which are also known to Hindus) are called Devales. This is an Indoeuropean word derived from "Deva-Alaya", which literally translates to "God's home". To put it in other words: In Devales you will often find images of Hindu deities (at least there are hidden symbols of them), but the worshippers are mostly Buddhists.
To make it a little bit more sophisticated (or even more confusing): There are different categories of priests in Devales. Each Sinhalese Devale has priests of only one kind, namely Brahmins or Kapuralas. Kapuralas are not defined by caste - there is no priest caste in the Sinhalese caste system - and Kapuralas are usually Sinhalese persons. The priests in charge at other Devales are Brahmins, and this means: In this case, Tamils serve as priests in Sinhalese Buddhist temples. You see, how strongly both main traditions of the island nation are interconnected, though not at all identical. The best example of such a Devale with Brahmin priests serving in a temple of Sinhalese Buddhists for worshipping a Hindu deity is the Kataragama Devale in the very center of Kandy downtown. The other three classic Devales of Kandy, all three being in the immediate vicinity of the Tooth temple, have Kapuralas as priests. By the way, all four Devales of the four major deities play a pivitol role in the Kandy Perahera, the pageant in honour of the Buddhist Tooth relic, to give another example of religious interconnectivity (instead of the Western model of exculsiveness, which leads to separations).
From a touristical point of view, the most important Devales are those already mentioned, the classic Four Devales (Hatara Devales) belonging to the Sacred City of Kandy, a World Heritage Site. The largest Kandyan period Devale, however, is the Maha Saman Devale near Ratnapura, which is the traditional place of worship of the mountain guardian deity for Siri Pada pilgrims. Among the so-called "Three Western Temples", situated between Kandy and Pilimathalawa and Gampola, the Embekke shrine (famous for woodcarvings) is a Devale dedicated to Lord Kataragama, wheras the other two temples are Buddhist image houses with Devales for worshipping gods as auxiliary side temples. Kataragama in the south is a combination of aboriginal Wedda shrine and Devale and Kovil within only one compound, even integrating a mosque.
In the case of Sri Lankan Buddhism, the connection of veneration of deities and faith in the Buddha and his teachings and his order is even more intimate, because the highest gods are considered to be guardians of Buddhism, one of their main tasks and ambitions is to protect the flourishing of Buddhist teachings and practices on the island.
Generally speaking, there are different levels of gods venerated by the Sinhalese, namely local deities, regional ones, and islandwide gods. However, there are no clearly marked drawings of boundaries between any two of these levels. The cult of a local deity can be known in one or the other distant village as well. And even the highest gods have specific regions where they are more predominant than others. Most significantly, Kataragama, the Sinhalese form of the Tamil god Murugan, is the guardian of the south of the islanf in particular. In recent dacades, there has been a tendency of holding higher gods in higher regard in everyday practices than in the past, when the cults of local deities were of much higher significance than today. Furthermore, there has always been a tendency to attribute the highest divine status to only four or sometimes five island-wide deities. Over the course of the centuries, however, this group of four consisted off different gods. For example, in early periods Saman, the guardian of Siri Pada (Adam's Peak) and Sabaragamuwa Province, was counted as one of the four highest gods. To be sure, Lord Saman is still of utmost significance in the said region and devotees from all parts of the island know him well and venerate him on pilgrimages to Siri Pada. However, since the Kandyan period, the circle of four supreme gods of Sinhalese Buddhists is a different one: Vishnu as former Upulvan, Kataragama known as Skanda to Hindus, Natha as a personification of a Bodhisattva, and Goddess Pattini introduced from South India, the cult of whom became popular already in the late middle ages and is popular on the local level, too. Cults of two of these deities are well established in Hinduism all over the world, namely Vishnu and Skanda. And it's these two that always belonged to the four highest deities venerated in Sri Lanka.
Foreigners should be aware, however, that though Sinhalese Buddhists venerate Hindu deities, it's not the same pantheon of gods as that of Tamils. Most importantly, Tamils in Sri Lanka usually regard Lord Shiva as supreme being also having the power of granting salvation. In contrast, for Sinhalese Buddhists Shiva plays almost no role in their religious practices, and for Buddhists, as said, no god can provide salvation. But in particular Vishnu and Skanda are venerated by both Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus, though not in the same way. For example, several Buddhists believe that the being that is now Vishnu will become a future Buddha. In other words, he is a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva veneration is alien to Hindus. The best way to understand the identity of some gods in both religions and their differences at the same time might be a reminder to Westerners, that in European antiquity Zeus and Jupiter or, as a second example, Artemis and Diana were regarded - or in the course of time identified - as the same deities, though Greeks and Romans did not share exactly the same ideas about their mythologies and relationships and functions and ways of worshipping them. Similarly, the veneration of Hindu deities in Buddhism is not the same as that in Hinduism. Generally speaking, the pantheon of deities worshipped by Buddhists resembles more that of Hindus of the Vedic rather than the Piranic period. And even more surprising, the pantheon of four highest deities venerated by Sinhalese Buddhists today resembles more that of ancient Tamils prior to Brahminasation. One could say, in this respect Sinhalese Budhists practice an older version of Tamil religion than Tamils themselves do. But don't tell this your new Tamil friends you will find on your journeyin Sri Lanka to avoid risks of insulting them or arguments about it. Nonetheless, it's true that ancient Tamils in South India venerated a pantheon of four highest deities and attributed different regions and also different colours to them, just like Sinhalese do till the present day.
Keeping the distinction of Sinhalese and Tamil worship of Hindu (plus local) deities in mind, you will understand that there are two different kinds of temples for sometimes the same gods in Sri Lanka. The places of Hindu worship are Kovils, which is a Tamil word. But the places where Sinhalese Buddhists worship deities (many of which are also known to Hindus) are called Devales. This is an Indoeuropean word derived from "Deva-Alaya", which literally translates to "God's home". To put it in other words: In Devales you will often find images of Hindu deities (at least there are hidden symbols of them), but the worshippers are mostly Buddhists.
To make it a little bit more sophisticated (or even more confusing): There are different categories of priests in Devales. Each Sinhalese Devale has priests of only one kind, namely Brahmins or Kapuralas. Kapuralas are not defined by caste - there is no priest caste in the Sinhalese caste system - and Kapuralas are usually Sinhalese persons. The priests in charge at other Devales are Brahmins, and this means: In this case, Tamils serve as priests in Sinhalese Buddhist temples. You see, how strongly both main traditions of the island nation are interconnected, though not at all identical. The best example of such a Devale with Brahmin priests serving in a temple of Sinhalese Buddhists for worshipping a Hindu deity is the Kataragama Devale in the very center of Kandy downtown. The other three classic Devales of Kandy, all three being in the immediate vicinity of the Tooth temple, have Kapuralas as priests. By the way, all four Devales of the four major deities play a pivitol role in the Kandy Perahera, the pageant in honour of the Buddhist Tooth relic, to give another example of religious interconnectivity (instead of the Western model of exculsiveness, which leads to separations).
From a touristical point of view, the most important Devales are those already mentioned, the classic Four Devales (Hatara Devales) belonging to the Sacred City of Kandy, a World Heritage Site. The largest Kandyan period Devale, however, is the Maha Saman Devale near Ratnapura, which is the traditional place of worship of the mountain guardian deity for Siri Pada pilgrims. Among the so-called "Three Western Temples", situated between Kandy and Pilimathalawa and Gampola, the Embekke shrine (famous for woodcarvings) is a Devale dedicated to Lord Kataragama, wheras the other two temples are Buddhist image houses with Devales for worshipping gods as auxiliary side temples. Kataragama in the south is a combination of aboriginal Wedda shrine and Devale and Kovil within only one compound, even integrating a mosque.
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