In Trinidad, a Puja for the goddess in a volcano

[Guest guest]

Ceremonial worship of a volcano in Trinidad

April 22, 2008

Caribbean Net News

By Dr. Kumar Mahabir

 

The mud volcano in the Columbia coconut estate in

Fullerton, Cedros, Trinidad, is revered annually with a puja

[ceremonial worship]. In their homes during the night,

villagers hear the sound of the mud bubbling in the belly of

the earth. [These] Hindus interpret this sound as a reminder

to pray and perform puja near the volcano. If they do not

make offerings to the volcano, Hindus believe that Mother

Durga will be angry with them and blow off the top of the

plateau.

 

Already the volcano has spread its mud, destroying acres of

valuable agricultural land. The overflow has covered

everything in its path. Mangrove trees have began to grow

on the margins of the plateau as an adaptation to the new

ecosystem. The emissions have altered the landscape.

 

The mud volcano is active with constant emissions of

bubbling hot water and soft clay. Fine sediments flow

through surface cracks which form cones as they cool. For

most of the time, the cones splutter with small spurts of

mud. The cones are usually not more than three feet high.

 

Though there is no immediate danger, devotees are not

taking chances. The constant swelling of the mud domes

and the increasing deposits around the orifices are a source

of worry. The escape of methane gas from the subsurface is

also a source of concern. Methane gas boils and churns clay

and salt water, and ejects this as a slurry of fine solids. The

outpourings may even submerge nearby homes, livestock

and vegetation as in Piparo and Devil's Woodyard.

 

There are about 20 mud volcanoes in Trinidad, including the

recent active formation in the sea at Mayaro. The most

visited are the active mud volcanoes in Piparo and Devil's

Woodyard. The latter is past Princes Town through Indian

Walk, and into Hindustan Road. The volcano in Devil's

Woodyard erupted violently in 1852, seven years after the

first wave of Indians came to Trinidad as indentured

labourers in 1845. The volcano in Piparo is also located in

South Trinidad near an exquisite Hindu temple that is also a

sight to behold with its superb craftsmanship, fine details

and extravagant interior. The volcano erupted in 1996,

unleashing a tidal wave of mud that slowly submerged 15

houses.

 

Annually, during the month of April, Hindus perform puja

to placate the spirit of the volcano in Cedros from wreaking

further destruction. They also express gratitude and

appreciation that it has not done more damage. They know

that scientists cannot accurately predict an eruption, and that

government agencies can only put plans in place for an

evacuation.

 

The mystical appeal of a bubbling volcano

 

The balka puja is a grand event in Cedros, attracting scores

of religious adherents and curious onlookers for decades.

Pilgrims and visitors drive one mile inside Columbia

coconut estate, up steep winding slopes into forested land

with wild trees and shrubs. Old folks travel up the mountain

out of a sense of tradition. The journey to the hilltop is a

metaphor for the ascent to spiritual enlightenment.

 

The spluttering and bubbling of the volcano is a curious

phenomenon which, for religious adherents, has a strong

mystical appeal. Hindus have made this volcano the object

of veneration through fear of its inexplicable natural power.

They believe that Goddess Durga resides miles underground

in a chamber fed by flows of magna from deep within the

earth. Durga is believed to be the Mother of the Universe.

She is perceived to be the power behind the work of

creation, preservation and destruction of the world.

 

Like native Indians in the early Americas, Indians in

Trinidad revere a volcano as a sacred place and a veneration

of nature. Some years ago, parents would take their children

to have their first hair-cut near the mud mound. [These]

Hindus believe that a puja performed near the dome is the

most effective way to communicate with god[dess]. The

volcano is believed to respond immediately to human prayer

and ritual.

 

Hindus make an altar with the soft clay of a fresh eruption

on the side of the plateau. On the altar, they make offerings

[jagaway] of flowers, fruits, leaves, grains, water, etc. to

Goddess Durga. In Hindu iconography, Durga is represented

sitting on a lion, suggesting that she has complete control of

dangerous forces. Hindus use the clay to make miniature

murtis [statues], and the sick apply it to treat skin diseases.

 

Nine women make offerings from a lota [brass jug] on a

large bubbling cone. The pandit [priest] chants agnihotra

mantras while a row of devotees touch the shoulder of one

another. The ceremony climaxes with the planting of a

jhandi [flagstaff] in the hole ( " mouth " ) of a bubbling vent.

Vegetarian meals, non-alcoholic drinks and fruits are served

to all at the end of the event.

 

Puja will be performed near the volcano on Sunday April

27, 2008 at 10.00 a.m.

 

Dr Kumar Mahabir is a professor at the University of

Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and Chairman, Indo-Caribbean

Cultural Council (ICC).

 

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-7328--16-16--

..html