Temple in the Sea
Temple in the Sea | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Hinduism |
Deity | Shiva, Durga, Ganesha, Hanuman and Krishna |
Festivals | Diwali, Phagwah, Ganesh Chaturthi, Maha Shivaratri, Kartik Poornima, Chhath, Navratri |
Governing body | Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha |
Location | |
Location | Waterloo, Carapichaima |
State | Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo |
Country | Trinidad and Tobago |
Shown within Trinidad and Tobago | |
Geographic coordinates | 10°28′54.1″N 61°28′31.9″W / 10.481694°N 61.475528°WCoordinates: 10°28′54.1″N 61°28′31.9″W / 10.481694°N 61.475528°W |
Architecture | |
Type | Hindu architecture and Indian architecture |
Creator | Sewdass Sadhu |
Date established | 1947 |
Completed | 1952 (1995 rebuilding was complete) |
The Temple in the Sea is a Hindu temple in Waterloo, Trinidad and Tobago.[1] Sewdass Sadhu constructed the original temple in the Gulf of Paria in 1952.[1][2][3] The temple was reconstructed by Randal Rampersad and reopened in 1995.[1][4][5]
History[]
Between 1845 and 1917, through the establishment of a labour indentured system, many Indians migrated to Trinidad and worked as indentured laborers in plantation sites across the country.[6] In the 1930s, Sewdass Sadhu, an indentured laborer, built a small temple on an estate owned by The Tate and Lyle Sugar Company by facing the Gulf of Paria.[2][5][7] Five years later, the estate management requested Sadhu to remove the temple because it was not his land, but he refused.[2][7] Sadhu was sent to prison for 14 days and fined 100 pounds for refusing to remove the temple and it destroyed.[2][7]
After his release from prison, Sadhu built the temple with the belief that colonial powers had no ownership of the sea.[2][7] In 1947, Sadhu began riding a bicycle to transport stones, cement, and sand in his bag from the island and unloaded them at the coast of the island to extend the island borders offshore.[1][2][3][5] After the creation of the rocky pathway, Sadhu built another temple in the Gulf of Paria.[1][2][3] The rocky pathway into the gulf and the temple were completed in 1952.[1][2]
Sewdass Sadhu[]
Sewdass Sadhu was born in 1904 and was the original builder of the temple in the sea.[2] He was the son of Boodhram and Bissoondayia, indentured laborers at the Waterloo Sugar Estate in Trinidad.[2] Sadhu traveled to Trinidad on the SS Mutlah when he was 4 years old.[2] He died in 1970.[2]
Reconstruction[]
After Sadhu's death in 1970, the temple deteriorated in the sea through high tides and a lack of maintenance from people.[2][4] The Hindu Prachar Kendra started to repair the land connecting the island to the temple.[2] This effort was continued, and the temple was reconstructed and opened in 1995 under the direction of Randal Rampersad, a third generation Trinidadian of indentured Indian ancestry.[1][4] The temple was opened in 1995 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first arrival of indentured laborers from India.[2] Remnants of the original temple in the sea were used to create the roof of a Shiva temple that now stands in the same spot as the temple built by Sadhu.[2] The reconstructed temple is 100 yards further in the sea then the original temple that Sadhu built.[2]
Deities[]
The Idols of Shiva, Ganesha, Hanuman, Durga, and Krishna are consecrated in the temple.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Siewdass Sadhu Temple In The Sea". National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rampersad, Indrani (2013). Contemporary Hinduism. London. pp. 438–440. ISBN 9781315729589.
- ^ a b c Prorok, Carolyn. "Transplanting Pilgrimage Traditions in the Americas". Geographical Review. 93: 297–299.
- ^ a b c Sahu, Arun Kumar. "Trinidad & Tobago Diary Part II: Land Of 'Temple In The Sea'". DishaBytes.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Temple in the Sea". Destination Trinidad & Tobago.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Perry, John Allen. "A History of the East Indian Indentured Plantation Worker in Trinidad, 1845-1917". ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
- ^ a b c d Bruce, Teddy. "Sewdass Sadhu, the man who built the Temple in The Sea". Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- Religious buildings and structures in Trinidad and Tobago
- Shiva temples
- Trinidad and Tobago stubs
- Hindu temple stubs