The Esala Perahera in Kandy is the grandest of the country’s traditional festivals. It has been stated that the Kandy Perahera is the World’s oldest recorded spiritual pageant, entailing unreserved and overwhelming devotion. It is organized by the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth Relic) to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic and the gods Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and the goddess Pattini. The most colourful Perahera is the last Randoli Perahera which falls on the Esala Full Moon Poya day. Over 75 caparisoned elephants, 1000s of dancers and drummers, hundreds of flag bearers and torchbearers take part in this procession. The Dalada Perahara allows devotees to venerate the Tooth Relic as it is carried through the streets in a casket on the back of a tusker decorated with a magnificent dress embedded with colored bulbs. The month of Esala (July), during which period this annual pageant is usually held, had been considered a month of celebrations and festivity.