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The procession of the Buddhist tooth, the sacred city of Kandy.

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The gold casket contains the tooth relic of Buddha.

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It is located in a temple in what was a king's palace complex in Kandy, in Sri Lanka.

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The 500-year-old city is on a plateau,

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surrounded by hills in the centre of the country,

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130 kilometres from Colombo.

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Many battles were fought to claim the tooth.

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Finally, the Kandy dynasty took control.

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Legend has it that the sacred tooth was brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th century,

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when a queen from India came to marry.

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The Sri Lankan king considered the sacred tooth a symbol of their royal power.

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The Kandy dynasty built the temple of the tooth in the 16th century to enshrine the relic.

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Although the dynasty is long gone,

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the tooth of Buddha is revered by Buddhists throughout the country and worldwide.

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Sri Lanka has been repeatedly invaded since the 13th century.

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The capital was relocated several times.

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But no matter where royalty went, the tooth of Buddha stayed with them.

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The ritual of bringing out the treasured tooth from the temple began in the 18th century.

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The tooth of Buddha begins its procession, or perahera.

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A royal male elephant carries the sacred tooth and leads the procession.

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About 80 elephants make their way into town.

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Torches fend off curses.

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The number of dancers on this evening reached 3,500.

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Religions revere relics of saints,

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but they are rarely made public in the way the tooth of Buddha is in Sri Lanka.

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The procession continues for ten days.

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It's the highlight of the annual calendar.