The annual pilgrimage to the shrine of the deity Skanda (Murukan) at Kataragama is the one of the most remarkable events in Sri Lanka. According to Gananath Obeyesekere, Sin- halese Buddhists have been participated in this Hindu religious movements in the past thirty years. This prosperity of the Kataragama cult and the rise of Skanda worship as a popular deity for the both Sinhalese and Tamils is related to the social change happened in this country and to the new problems associated with the life in the modern world. This paper tackles with this case study by focusing on the relationships between popular and elite culture under the social change. The sudden explosive rise of the Kataragama cult has been caused with the social and marital aspirations, educational and political ambitions, occupatinal and business uncertainties, and the status frustrations of the people. Under this social situation, both the popular and elite culture were mixed each other and transformed the traditional ethnic culture into the new one. We discuss about this process with the historical background and try to make a cultural analysis through symbols and meanings.