‘DiyawadanaNilame’ has the custody of the key of the first casket out of the seven golden caskets where the Sacred Tooth Relic is enshrined, as he is the lay custodian of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This position is recorded in the ‘Dathuwansa’, the chronicle of tooth relic, as ‘Dhathurakkadikari’. Diyawada Nilame also bears the responsibility of organizing daily rituals and annual festivals. Also he holds the responsibility of assets and properties of Maligawa and the regulation of duties of others. Officials in the service of sacred tooth relic are also entrusted to him. He is also duty bound to welcome foreign diplomats and other local and foreign delegations.
The official costume of ‘Diyawadana Nilame’is the upcountry ceremonial dress (The Mul Anduma – Traditional Sinhala Costume Hailing from the days of the Royal Kandyan Kingdom). The dress is tailored using a total of 48 yards, 12 Yards of material for each item called Thuppottiya, Pachchawadama, Somaniya and Kawaniya. The dress consists of 14 parts. In keeping with tradition, the ‘DiyawadanaNilame’ wears a dress of white for Kumbal Perahara, while for Randoli Perahara either golden or some other suitable bright color is used. It’s a specialty that the dress is woven with golden thread.
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