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°W / 10.481694; -61.475528Coordinates: 10°28′54.1″N 61°28′31.9″W / 10.481694°N 61.475528°W / 10.481694; -61.475528
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[]

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