Hinduism in Seychelles

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Hindus in Seychelles 3 Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam 4 Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple 5 Life of Indians in Seychelles 6 Links

[edit] Introduction

The first Tamil, Ramalingam from Reunion, came to Seychelles in 1789 as an advisor to the Governor and was endowed with large areas of land for his services. In 1864 the Naiken family established their business followed in 1874 by Kandasamy Chetty in business. Now one may see Tamil influence here in the frequency of common Tamil names such as Pillai, Chetty, Govindan, Naiken, Kandasamy and Vadivelu and a large number of them are in the business community.

For 222 years Tamils have had a continuous and uninterrupted history in this island. For 300 or more years they have had a history in this region comprising of Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion and South Africa. Even though fellow Tamils in other settlements in this region established centres of cultural and religious significance for themselves, Seychellois Tamils did not establish any such centre. Their cultural thirst and religious needs were satisfied through periodical visits to their native Tamilnadu. Attempts were made to hold cultural festivals when Tamils assembled and celebrated their days of cultural importance. However, the absence of an established centre made these efforts intermittent.

For well over 200 years the Tamil settlers became integrated with the local population resulting in inter-marriages and some conversions also. They became well versed in the local creole language also. Now Tamils own a large number of business houses. In the course of this development their traditional values including language, religion and culture took a back seat in the land of their settlement. The inter-mingling of races -- British, French, African and Asian -- and mixed marriages without barrier of colour created a multi-faceted and almost unparalleled community, a peaceful community that is a good example for other countries. Another important feature is the acceptance of three languages – English, French and Creole – as the official languages of the country [1]

[edit] Hindus in Seychelles

According to the 2001 census there were 1,600 Hindus in Seychelles. Most of them were ethnic east Indian.

In 1901 there were 332 Tamil-Hindu families out of a population of 19,237 and now there are about 3500 Tamil speaking people.

The organization of the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam in 1984 and the consecration of the Navasakti Vinayagar Temple in May 1992 were landmarks for the resurgence of Tamil cultural activities apart from the religious awakening [2]

[edit] Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam

The Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam over this short span of seventeen years has successfully established and entrenched some strong foundations for the preservation, consolidation and further flowering of Hindu-Tamil culture in this paradise island of Seychelles. The ever-popular kavadi festival and special Hindu festivals are covered in Tamil and English in the national media and wide coverage of such events over national radio and television are worthy of appreciation. The Sangam may be proud of having published six souvenir booklets on the temple, two compilations of devotional hymns and four annual religious calendars, all for free distribution. For the annual consecration the national daily "The Seychelles Nation" in Tamil and English publishes a special commemorative supplement [3]

[edit] Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple

The Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple, the first and the only Hindu temple in Seychelles, has Lord Ganesha as the presiding deity. Since 1999, Lord Ganesha is taken out along the outer courtyard on Vinayagar Chathurti day amid great pomp and pageantry. Apart from the presiding deity, icons of Lord Murugan, Lord Nadarajah, Goddess Durga, Sreenivasa Perumal, Bhairawa and Chandekeswarar are enshrined in the inner mandapam of the temple. Appropriate prayers, pujas and festivals are performed for the different deities on special occasions.

Taippoosam Kavadi Festival, which started in 1993 in Seychelles in the inner courtyard of the temple, is now conducted in the outer courtyard and a chariot kavadi is also taken out in procession. This festival has gained popularity as a national festival, so much so, that as from 1998 the Government has declared it to be a holiday for Hindus. [4]

[edit] Life of Indians in Seychelles

Relative prosperity of the community is possibly responsible for the nascent anti-foreigner sentiment in the country. This was evident during the recent presidential elections. A natural consequence has been the growing PIO concerns relating to their life, their property and their earnings – concerns heightened by the fact that repatriation of local earnings to India is difficult due to the country’s shortage of foreign exchange [5]

[edit] Links

• Indian Community in Seychelles
• Tamil Hindus in Seychelles