State oil anointing ceremony at Kirivehera

Priyanka Kurugala

The state oil anointing ceremony to mark the New Year will be held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the premises of the Kataragama Kirivehera on April 15 at 6.41 am, Indigenous Medicine Minister Salinda Dissanayake said. The ceremony will be jointly organised by the Indigenous Medicine Ministry and the Ayurveda Department.

The state oil anointing ceremony will be held under the direction of Kataragama-Kirivehera Chief Incumbent and Uva Wellassa University Vice Chancellor Most Ven Aluthwewa Soratha Thera.

The Indigenous Medicine Ministry said arrangements are in place to hold the state ceremony for anointing oil on a grand scale.

Indigenous Medicine Ministry sources said at 6.41 a.m. on Monday, April 15, those engaged in avurudhu rituals should be attired in white clothes and should face the East with Dimbul (Attikka) leaves placed on the head and Imbul leaves under the feet.

Oil and a concoction mixed with the juice of the Dimbul (Attikka) leaves should be applied on the head. This should be followed by bathing.

The sources said packets of this concoction have been distributed islandwide. Packets of the concoction were provided to 10,000 temples and 15,000 registered traditional doctors. All Divisional Secretariats were also provided with the concoction, the sources said.

If any temple or registered traditional doctor have not received the concoction, they can contact the Ayurvedic Department on 0112847555.