Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple Penang

The Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple also known as Arulmigu Thandayuthapani Temple is one of the more famous Hindu temples located in Penang, Malaysia. Dedicated to Lord Subramaniam, also known as Lord Murugan, it is better known as the "Thaneermalai Temple".

Located on Waterfall Road (Jalan Air Terjun), the Shaivite temple is the central focus of the annual Thaipusam festival in Penang.

It was founded around 1854, after the chettiar community in Penang Street bought the piece of land to build the chettiar quarters, or chettinar. Being astute businessmen and moneylenders, the chettiar build temples that are hallmarks of quality, and are usually well managed as well as financially secure. Within the chettiar quarters is the temple of Thendayuthapani, an incarnation of the deity Murugan. This temple was consecrated in 1857. It was build in the chokkatan, or chequered design.

The present structure was consecrated in 1935.

Immediately opposite the Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple is the Sri Meenakshi Sundraeswar Temple.

Background

Sri Thendayuthapani Temple not only epitomizes the glory of Lord Murugan, but also that of the Chettiars, once a community of traders, merchant-bankers and moneylenders. They hail from the Sivagangai and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They settled down in 96 villages in these two districts .

They are often referred to as Nattukottai Chettiars to distinguish them from other groups of Chettiars. The term "Nattukottai Chettiars" means "people with palatial houses in the countryside". They are also referred to as "Nagarathars" meaning city dwellers, as they lived in a city called Poompuhar on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, a part of which went under the sea.

It was a practice for the Nattukottai chettiars to build Lord Murugan temples wherever they settled. This was the case in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaya, Sri Lanka and Singapore. They had the advice of Sivachariars not to build any Sivan Temples as certain rituals had to be observed. As the Brahmin Sivachariars were prohibited from crossing the seas, they advised them to establish Lord Murugan Temples where non-Brahmin priests, the Pandarams, could be employed.

This does not mean that the Brahmin priests had not visited South East Asia before. Records show that there had been the priests at the Royal Courts of Thailand and Cambodia. The Hindu Traditional practice of reciting Thiruvempavai during the coronation of Thai kings bear testimony to this. No one is certain when and why the Sivachariars - the Tamil speaking Brahmin priests stopped coming to South East Asia.

By the third quarter of the 19th century things changed and the Brahmin priests in India, particularly Tamil Nadu became adventurous as the rest of the Indians and decided to seek their fortunes in Malaya and Singapore.

Festivals

An estimated 100,000 people attend the Thaipusam festival at the temple, making it the largest festival and human gathering in Penang. It is also a leading tourist attraction.

Thaipusam is an annual religious event celebrated by Hindus to commemorate the victory of Lord Murugan over the demon, Tarakasuran. Devotees and penitents can seen bearing "kavadi"s, and piercing their bodies with hooks and spears without seeming to cause any pain or harm as an act of faith and atonement.

The chariot procession begins on Thaipusam eve where the chariot together with Chettiar "kavadi"s -- male chettiar carry a peacock feather yoke accompanying the silver chariot -- (different from body-piercing type of kavadis) departs "Kovil Veedu"(House Temple) on Penang Street, Georgetown in the morning ends here at night. They retreat to the chettinar for three days before accompanying the chariot back to town.

References

* [http://www.sttemple.com/STT/english/chettiars.asp History of Nattukottai Chettiars]
* [http://www.asiaexplorers.com/malaysia/nattukkottai_chettiar_temple.htm Asia Explorers - Nattukottai Chettiar Temple]

External links

* [http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2767004-nattukottai_chettiar_temple_penang-i Yahoo Travel Review]
* [http://www.tourismpenang.gov.my/article.cfm?id=18 Thaipusam celebration in Penang]