We’ve all seen the image of elephants bowing down to pay their respects to various deities. While we as spectators observing a cultural practice may have felt positive emotions towards such an image, even feeling proud to see such a massive animal get on its knees before a deity we all believe in, have we thought about how it is an unnatural action on the part of the animal?
It is not that the elephant is willingly bowing down to the deity – it is that the elephant is “being made to bow down”, which is a trained action.
However, addressing these matters have remained incredibly polarising in Sri Lanka, especially considering that the majority’s view is that culture should remain as it is, untouched.
We spoke to Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) Founder and animal rights activist Maneesha Arachchige who shared her thoughts on the matter. “These practices where we use elephants for processions are adapted from the Nanayakkaras from India.”
She said that while it may not have been questioned in the past, where we did not have scientific evidence to back us up, nowadays we know the damage caused to these wild animals when they are made to participate in these activities against their will.
“We now know how cruel and inhumane it is to forcefully remove these wild animals from their natural habitat; the psychological and physiological damages they suffer,” she said, adding also that there is no real reason why we involve animals in these activities if not for the human experience.
She also shared that elephants are social animals and they were meant to live with their herd, and tearing them away from where they were meant to be is an incredible injustice and an inhumane act, adding: “Surely even from a religious perspective, we can understand that it is not right.”
Melanie Gunathilake of Climate Action Now Sri Lanka also shared her thoughts on the matter, providing: “Elephants are keystone species, and they serve a grave ecological importance in the ecosystem. When they are held in captivity in this way, they cannot serve this purpose. The only reason we have not looked into alternatives to these activities to which we force elephants purely stems from human ego.”
University of Peradeniya Department of Veterinary Clinical Science senior lecturer Prof. Ashoka Dangolla, who has also published multiple papers on “Training and Health of Captive Elephant Keepers in Sri Lanka”, shared that what is most important here is to separate religion from culture. He said what we are talking about here are cultural practices, and as per the Constitution the Government of Sri Lanka is obligated to protect this “culture and heritage”.
Therefore, he said that he feels it is futile to push for the complete abolition of the use of elephants in these cultural activities. However, what can be done, he went on, is to encourage the welfare of these animals held in captivity and to create awareness around the fact that elephants are in fact wild animals and they are not at all domesticated. “Domestication must happen over generations and elephants remain wild beasts.”
Therefore, regardless of these practices being age-old traditions, they are unnatural to these wild animals and we as humans are making them do it.
However, Dr. Dangolla also added that there is no conclusive research or evidence he is aware of that was conducted from within the island to truly showcase the effects of captivity and the inclusion of these elephants in these activities. Therefore, he said that it is incredibly important to collect such data so that activists are able to present conclusive evidence showcasing the effects, be it harmful or not, in order to push for real change.
