#TRAVEL My Weekly Powerup | #club100 | Beautiful Hindu temples on the island of Mauritius | #steemexclusive / 11 photos

digi-me (72)Traveler 🇳🇴in Traveling Steem • 23 days ago (edited)

All over the island of Mauritius, you will see lots of Hindu temples. Some are small. Some are large. Most of them are colorful and interesting places to visit. I am staying in Grand Baie, one of the main tourist destinations on the island. Even though I have been here many times I haven't visited any of the temples in town. I have walked past churches, Hindu temples and mosques without ever visiting them. This time I have planned to change this. I have already been visiting one of the temples I have passed so many times, on my way to the beach. The other was closed when I went there, so I only have a photo from outside. Both are dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. Shiva might be that of the Hindu deities we know best. He is the god of destruction, but also of rebirth and protection.

Grand Baie Mandir / Shir Kaylan Vath Mandir

This is a rather small temple. It's not as colorful as most tamil temples, but it has a peaceful atmosphere. There were a few devotees coming by at the same time I was here. When inside there are several glass cases with deities. I just don't know all of them, except Parvati, the wife of Shiva. She is a wellknown goddess in Hinduism.

Tamil Surya Oudaya Sangam Temple

The other tamil temple I often pass. Unfortunately the entrance door was locked. I should have liked to be inside. It's rather small, but quite different in style from the other. It is much more colorful and decorated with lots of sculptures. Some of these are the Hindu deities. There should be an alter for Ganesha inside. He is the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati and one of the most recognizable of all of them. He is the one with an elephant's trunk.

In 2022 I went to this temple - The Kaylasson Temple in Port Louis. An absolutely amazing temple when it comes to architecture.

In Mauritius, all the major religions are represented. The island is multi-cultural. Today's inhabitants are descended from the colonial powers such as France and Great Britain, African slaves, indentured workers from India, Chinese traders etc. All these people brought their culture and religion with them. This has shaped the modern nation. It is believed that close to 450.000 indentured workers arrived during the years after abolition of slavery (1835 to WWI). By far, most of them came from India. They brought with them Hinduism and Islam. Hinduism is practiced by around half of the population today. This is why we will see so many temples all over the island. There are a lot more I have planned to visit.

CC @patjewell

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