Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Penang

The Nattukottai Chettiar Temple also known as Arulmigu Sri Thandayuthapani Temple, is perhaps the most famous of Hindu temples located in Penang, Malaysia. Dedicated to Lord Subramanian, also known as Lord Murugan, it is commonly known as the Thanneermalai Temple. Located on Waterfall Road (Jalan Kebun Bunga), this Shaivite temple is the centre of the annual Thaipusam festival in Penang.

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. The chettiyars renovated so many temples in Tamil Nadu amongst them the Melakadambur the sculptural temple made ny the King Kulothunga I ,they renovated with massive hard stone works sucha as arthamandapa and mahamandaps and huge compound walls

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 kavadis, 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 kavadis -- 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

• Registered Trustees Nattukottai Chettiars' Temples, Penang
• History of Nattukottai Chettiars
• Asia Explorers - Nattukottai Chettiar Temple

External links

• Chettiars' celebrating Thaipusam in Penang
• Yahoo Travel Review
• Thaipusam celebration in Penang
• Video of Thaipusam celebration in Penang