About This Project High in the central mountain region of Sri Lanka, surrounded by lush tropical forests, lies the city of Kandy. It is here that a relic of the great Lord Buddha is worshiped in the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic). Pilgrims come from across the country to make sacrifice and pray at the temple. Annually for the past 600 years a magnificent religious festival has taken place in Kandy. For ten consecutive nights hundreds of drummers, dancers, torchbearers, and elephants walk through the streets of the city in Sri Lanka’s most sacred procession and renowned national pageant. In July 1995, American photographer Michael Sarnacki made his first trip to Sri Lanka to document this spectacle. That first journey was followed by ten more trips over the following fifteen years. During these pilgrimages he photographed, researched, and wrote about this historic event and documented the lives of the people of Kandy. This extended effort is now presented in the form of a beautiful book and a breathtaking exhibition. It has always been our intention to introduce this great event to a much wider audience. We believe the book, and the photographs it contains, presents a wonderfully detailed account of one of the world’s great events. We hope you consider purchasing a book, organizing an exhibition of these photographs in your community, and forwarding the information about this project to your friends and colleagues. To view a sampling of the book’s photographs, please click here. The Sri Lanka Project Team (Click on any photo below for a larger image.) Michael Sarnacki Photographer and Writer   Trista Sample Art Director   Rachel Hines Asst. Exhibition & Design Coordinator   Claudia LeAnne Frede Media Coordinator   Elliot Sarnacki Facilitator Funding This Project This project would never have been possible without the support of a large number of people. We would like to gratefully acknowledge their contributions. Majors Sponsors: Bob and May Weinbaum Chris Alix Christine & Jeff Kerr David Dickey Frances Sarnacki Kenneth A. Hiltz Lakeview Friends Lori Parks Robert J. and Margaret E. Lane Samantha Perera Sarnacki & Associates Architects This project was also funded by these supporters through Kickstarter. Al Lorenzo Alex Parks Allan Dranberg Andrew & Susan Smilnak Ann Marie Gabrielson Anton Canisious Barbara Carson-McHale Barry Lohman Bernard Menken Bill Meyer Bill Schwab Bill & Michelle Wentworth Bonnie & Al Koch Brian Sarnacki Bruce Giffin Bryan Treen C V Ramachandran Cara Cherry Carla Anderson Caroline Jaine Cass & Phyllis Pawlowski Chula Rajapakse Conrad Welsing Cyndi Noraian Czarina Mustafa Dash Ranasinghe Dave Mastrangelo David Doubley David Ippel David & Sheryl Thompson Dawn Jayska Daymon Hartley Deb DiRezze Debra Kuptz Dennis Cox Dennis Elliot Diane Armijo Diane McCallum Diane Palmer Dilip Abayasekara Dolores Mack Don Sarnacki Donita Simpson Doug Aikenhead Doug & Susan Coupanger Ed and Marianne Nugent Elayne Gross Fair Radom Gamini P Jayasuriya Gayan Gunawardana Gere Baskin Hemal Gurusinghe Ian R. Solberg Ilene Lanfear Imasha & Anuradha Walatara Indu Rupassara Ingrid White Jacek Sarnacki Jacqueline Skelton James Fassinger James Nugent Janet Janet and John Boyles Janet Suriano-Taylor Janice Gutowski Jay & Laurie Sarnacki Jay Wimalasena Jennifer Nugent Jeri Magid Jerome Pryor, S. J. Jerry & Diana Nagorski Jessica Masten Jim Childress Jim Collini Joann Johnson John Adams John Drogosch John Sobczak Joseph Crachiola Judith & Robert Goren Kaleema A.Sumareh Karen Constantinoff Kavinda Gunasekara Kelli Knapp Kiley Weber Kiran Asija Kisha A. Chaudhuri–Maitree Kumi Bali Kumudinie & Upali Fonseka Kyle Rocheleau Larry K. Snider LaTanya Orr Laura & Henry Lisa Maria Braun Madelyne Sarnacki Madu Batuwangala Manori Nadesalingam Marie A. Schimelfening Martha Berriman Mary Castelli Mary Ellen S. O'Keefe Mary Ellen Sanko Mary Karshner Maryellen Sarnacki Mel Christiansen Michael & Violet Ryan Michael Vaughn Michelle Overstreet Mieke Beumer Miri Stebivka Mr. & Mrs. R.D. Muller Namal Raigama Nanda Perera Nate Sarnacki Nicholas Sarnacki Nicole Walters Nikki Freitag Nyama Y. Marsh Omar Khan P. Daya Seneviratne Patrice Beauvais Patricia Izzo Patty McCarthy Philip Southern Pri Kalupahana Rachel Brennan Rachel Ray Ramani Wijayratne Ranjan A Ranjith Abeyratne Ranjith U. Wijetunge Ravi Thabolingam Rebecca Cook Renee Costa Rob and Joy Angelastro Robert Scullin Robin Bearance Roy Feldman Samer Dirani Sandy Seeber Sanka T Santa Fabio Sarath Joshua Scott Klein Scott W Thum Shelly Villarreal Shiral Devmal Spot On Art Srilankaevents Stephanie Squires Stephanie Tombari Stephen Graham Steve & Reba Sarnacki Steven Jungquist Steven Lewis Subadra Deundara Sujeewa Randeniya Susan Anderson Suzanne Bailey Sydney Cash Tamara Wood Taro Yamasaki Ted and Mary Stenger Ted Winiarski Tom Guyot Trista Sample U. H. Dhanawansa Ursula Sliwka Veronica Paiz & Alex Rogowski Vickie Feurino Wick Gankanda Wilkins Family William K. Wilkins Wm. B. Becker Acknowledgements Obviously a project of this length and scope is not possible without the help and guidance of many individuals. My sincere gratitude is extended to the following individuals, companies and organizations: In Sri Lanka • His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa - President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka • His Excellency Jaliya Wickramasuriya - (Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States) • His Excellency Bandula Jayasekara (Sri Lanka Diplomat – United Nations) • Wasantha Perera (Sri Lanka Embassy – Washington) • Dhammika Swarnasinghe (Kandy) • Fr. Quintus Fernando (Wennappuwa) • W.F.X. Fernando (Negombo) • S.W. R. Weerakoon (Kandy) • Susila Balasubramaniam (Kandy) • M. Imthiaz Hamza (Kandy) • Lakshman Dharmapriya J.P. (Dalada Maligawa – Kandy) • Chiratni Perera (Kandy) • Dr. Ashoka Dangolla (Peradeniya University) • P.W. Lal Jayaratna (Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya) • Kapila Wanniarachchi (Kandy) • Piramon D. Silva (Editor of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon) • Gamini Ramanayake (Photographer - Associated Newspapers of Ceylon) • Ninsai Pitipana (Photographer - Associated Newspapers of Ceylon) • S. Chitranasdaó (Photographer - Associated Newspapers of Ceylon) International Assistance • Hebe Lin (China) • Patsuda Sajamark (Thailand) • Virgil D. Duff (Toronto) • Carine Fraley de Léotard (France) • Stephanie Tombari (Toronto) In the United States • Trista Sample • Jim Nixon • Diane McCallum • Ellen Piligian • Stephanie Schneider • Todd Weinstein • Jeff Marxi • Lori Parks • Jeff & Chris Kerr • Robert Lane • John Drogosch • Maria Mustonen • Martha Berriman • Karilyn Collin • John Szlavik • Dan Montague • Maria & David Mustenon • Jay Alix • Debra Kuptz • AlixPartners. LLC • Macomb Community College Foundation • Bob & May Weinbaum • Jeanne, Frances and Elliot Sarnacki Home   |   The Project   |   The Book   |   Photographs   |   News   |   Contact