Elephant racing enough to accommodate nine participating elephants. Elephants are entered into the races from many villages. Two mahuts or jockeys ride on each elephant - one to steer it and another to goad it to race fast. A musical instrument made of horns of the elephants is blown first to assemble the elephants at the starting gate, then another sound is blown to signal the elephants to take the starting line and be set for the race, and with the third blow of the horn, the race is signaled. The elephants generally race at a speed of 25 mph with the
Kandula (elephant) Kandula (elephant) Kandula is a famous war elephant mentioned in the Sinhala chronicle Mahavamsa. According to the chronicle, when Dutugamunu of Sri Lanka (101–77 BC) was born, many items of value were said to have appeared spontaneously, which were found and brought in by various people as gifts to the newborn. Among them a fine elephant who was found by a fisherman named "Kandula". The elephant was named for its finder and became the companion of Dutugamunu, serving as his mount during the wars that led to the unification of Sri Lanka. The climactic duel between king Ellalan and Dutugemunu