Hulugalle Weda Walauwa.

The Shrine of God Gale Bandara.

The custodian deity of the shrine is said to be Wathhimi Bandara a child born to Buwanekabahu the II (1293 -1303 A.D.)  first King of the Kingdom of Kurunegala and his Muslim escort.There are two shrines located in the vicinity of the Elephants' rock dedicated to God Gale Bandara. One of it can be found in the premises of Ethkanda Vihara (a historical temple with religious significance) and the other is being kept under the guardianship of Muslim curates.Before proceeding any further on the subject of these two shrines an analysis of who God Gale Bandara is needs be considered.
King Buwanekabahu II had been meandering in the streets one day with his retinue. Besides being a spirited character the King espoused the importance of being duty - bound from  his courtiers.At around the same time a beautiful damsel had caught his eye near a place called Asweduma ( the ancient title deeds outline the boundaries of this area as the land in front of Ethkanda Vihara where an old mansion by the name of 'kaduruwewa' is found today).She was a Muslim by birth.She had entered the Kings' harem with his patronage and had given birth to his son. Up until then the queen had failed him from gifting him with a child.The child born to the Muslim woman became known as prince Wathhimi.
The prince born this way was later on enthroned as King Wathhimi Bandara. The King however had a covetousness for riches and his ministers were never in favour of the way he conducted his governance.The folklore gives the reason for this as follows.The King had dismissed the protocol of all the Sinhala ministers of his council and instead appointed those who were his maternal relatives.These Muslim ministers had carried out a campaign against Buddhism.In this respect they had pleaded with the public to refrain from giving alms to the Buddhist clergy living in temples.Not stopping at that they had forfeited the royal patronage granted to Buddhist temples. The Buddhist clergy got agitated with these restrictions enforced upon their community.Henceforth they conspired to terminate the life of their King.While all this was happening a rumour started spreading around the area where the Kurunegala lake is found.That a golden pitcher appears in the lake.Not only that a person paying more attention could perceive seven golden pitchers.The King had dispatched men of Sinhala origin to collect this golden pitcher. The moment they entered into the lake the golden pitcher had buoyed up to the surface of the water and had started drifting towards the 'Bisokotuwa' (a water containment area before the sluice gates).Those who tried to approach it had drowned in the lake.Nevertheless the King had not given up hope to retain the golden pitcher.But it is believed many people have been killed in this attempt.On this grounds and the fact the King was carrying out an offensive against the community of Buddhist clergy was reason enough for the dissenting circle to seize the opportunity to mastermind the assassination of the King. Whatsmore the Bhikkhus who were no longer predisposed to the conduct of the King and his ministers had assembled at a temple in Dambadeniya to device the praxis for the killing.After the discussions how they put it into operation is as follows. First of all they had organized 64 cloistral disciples dressed as Bhikkhus for this purpose.Furthermore, they had convinced the King that sacrificing of men or putting men at work in this effort is an impractical pursuit.If it is the case in order to retain the golden pitcher a decorative stage for the chanting of 'Pirith' (Buddhist stanzas) needs to be erected and a powerful chanting by sixty four bhikkhus is imperative they counselled  the King.When the news was disclosed to the King he had given his authority blinded by his avarice and not considering the terrible consequences that may befall him. 

The stage for the Pirith chanting was decoratively arranged on top of the Elephants' rock.Preparation for the ceremony was meticulously thought out by the conspirators dressed as Bhikkhus. Along with the construction of the stage they had intentionally placed the seat for the King next to the precipice of the rock.Thereafter they had sent an invitation to the King to grace the occasion.The King had accepted the invitation and readied himself to be at the ceremony.On this instance a certain confidante counsel of his had pleaded with him to desist his presence at the ceremony.But the greedy King overcome by his desire to keep the golden pitcher had not given heed to his warnings.He had set forth to ascent to the summit of the Elephants' rock.Since the procession was inclusive of all the pomp and pageantry further bolstered by the fact they had erected robust ladders for the ascent any incredulity must have not crossed his mind.In addition the conspirators had brought to his majesty's' notice that while the 'Pirith' chanting is under way the golden pitcher will make its' way along the 'Pirith' yarn (the 'Pirith' yarn is considered holy since the chanted stanzas are supposedly transmitted along it).In order to give a live demonstration of the so called miracle the 'Pirith' yarn had been drawn from the ceremonial stage and going down directly into the lake.
Consistent with an auspicious time the chanting of  'Pirith' had commenced from the ceremonial stage on top of the Elephants' rock.The King too had fervently listen to the chanting with the belief that he will have possession of the golden pitcher.Soon after the beginning of the chanting of  'Atanatiya Sutta' (32nd Sutta of  the Long discourses of the Buddha) the conspirators had put their intrigue into action.The King was unaware that he had been sitting on a trap.Thus, the machination or the predetermined plan was set in motion by releasing the trap which the King had been seated on.The very moment the King was thrown off the precipice.Thence his sovereign body had landed in the premises of 'Ethkanda Vihara' the folklore further mentions.
The head of King Wathhimi had got separated from its' torso the scriptures exemplify.Because he was consumed with greed at the time of his death he had taken his birth as a demon.It is stated that by the merit of the power of 'Pirith' his demon avatar could not enter the precinct of the sanctified 'Pirith' stage.The demon had mutilated the tiger that had been dwelling in a cave at that time in the premises of 'Ethkanda vihara' into four separate portions.Following that the demonic incarnation had carried the four portions of flesh to the ceremonial 'Pirith' stage and placed those at the four corners around it.The Bikku impersonators had exclaimed "Chee" in unison a sound uttered to express disgust at the raw meet that is being displayed before them.The contorted utterance had a deflating effect on the potency of the 'Pirith' chant.In an instance the frenzied demon had entered into the 'Pirith' stage and massacred everyone present by smashing their heads on the rock as if breaking coconut shells.Not stopping at that it had sucked the blood of the unfortunate victims.Those who were killed in this manner consisted of impersonators robed as Bikkus. Likewise, the demon had run amok massacring people in and around the Kurunegala city and infusing fear in the minds of the masses.During this time God Kataragama was incumbent of the shrine in 'Pallewalpola'.(an area within Kurunegala city limits)The omnipotent God after summoning his powers of an ecclesiastical vision had witnessed the carnage that is being unleashed by the demon.
 The present day the Nuga tree (Ficus benghalensis) that was at the aforementioned shrine can be found in Madamegama.(an area within Kurunegala city limits) God Kataragama after capturing the demon had taken it to Madamegama temple. where it was decked with a rosary around its' neck and made it observe the precepts.Subsequently the 'rock demon' ('Gala' is a Sinhala word meaning rock and 'Gale' is only an inflection of the same word) was bestowed with Godly powers and since became known as God Gale Bandara. The consecrated deity Gale Bandara had been of benevolence to the people in their suffering and in prosperity.
As time passed by one day a certain relative of the confidante counsellor of King Wathhimi Bandara from 'Udawalpola' (an area within Kurunegala city limits)  had journeyed into the premises of 'Ethkanda Vihara'  to mow the grass.While he was busy at the job in the thicket was bewitched by the entity of God Gale Bandara. The person who was possessed by God Gale Bandara  had appeared before the then resident monk  of 'Ethkanda Vihara' and proclaimed himself as Gale Bandara. That day onwards God Gale Bandara had made himself a shrine in the site of Ethkanda Vihara itself and became its' custodian. 
During this epoch a contagious mosquito disease had inflicted the populace.Reason for this was when the rock was in heat the people had taken ill.Once the rock cools down the people had caught the chill and succumbed to their deaths.A person who  pleaded with God Gale Bandara to eradicate the deadly disease had been miraculously saved. since then contaminated people had started flocking in the premises of Ethkanda Vihara much to the annoyance of  the residing priests who had noticed the officials performing the rituals at the shrine to move it to a different location.
By this time the heraldry of God Gale Bandara had been the sickle.Even today this armorial device is kept in its' inner sanctum. The duties of sacrament to the God was once again initiated after shifting the shrine to the cave where the butchered Tiger used to live. This property is called as 'Ambagahamula Watte'. The officials at the shrine had been continuously industrious in carrying out the rituals to the detail.
While they were steadfastly performing the rituals in this manner the torso of King Wathhimi Bandara was taken to the shrine at Wathhimi road (next to Imperial theatre in Kurunegala) and laid to rest. 
At first  there was no statue dedicated to God Gale Bandara. Anyhow the chief official at that time of the shrine (refers to the one in the premises of Ethkanda Vihara) had moulded a two feet tall statuette in red sandalwood according to his fancy complete with a cap worn by Muslims.Even today this statuette can be seen at the shrine.The statuette is believed to be more than 400 years old.