The Tamil Heritage in Pietermaritzburg Alleyn Diesel

The Tamil heritage in Pietermaritzburg

by Alleyn Diesel

URING the Easter period, unscathed through fire. Faithful devo- while Christians all over Piet- tees spend the week fasting and attend- Dermaritzburg gather in church- ing the daily ceremonies at the temple es to hear once again the story of Jesus’ which highlight features of Draupadi’s life, death and resurrection, with the life. The dramatic climax of the festi- devout attempting to identify with his val is the firewalking where crowds of suffering, so members of the local Tamil devotees demonstrate their faith and Hindu community observe their own purity, emulating Draupadi by walking “holy week” preparing for the Drau- across a pit of burning coals. padi Firewalking Festival by listening Draupadi is the Mother of Fire, one again to the sacred story of the Goddess of the south Indian Amman (meaning Draupadi, her faithfulness, courage, and “mother”) Goddesses, brought to South victory over indignity and suffering. Africa by the early Tamil settlers, and This very popular 10-day festival, still very popular today. Mariamman, held in the grounds of the Mariamman another much venerated Goddess, Temple at the lower end of Langali- has many local temples dedicated to balele Street, recapitulates, through her. These vibrant female deities have story, song and ritual, aspects of the since very ancient times been regarded rich and complex mythology, relat- as responsible for the wellbeing of ing Draupadi’s odyssey towards spir- humans, animals and nature, revered itual perfection where, after numer- as the great Mother Earth who gave ous severe tribulations, she finally birth to all life, and to whom all will demonstrated her virtue by walking eventually return.

The story of Draupadi, contained state of Tamil Nadu, where they were fa- in the great Indian epic the Mahab- miliar with the mythology and ritual of harata (c.200 BCE-200 CE), is a dra- Draupadi worship which can be traced matic tale of fortunes lost and won, of back at least seven centuries. Soon after treachery and faithfulness, of defeat they settled in Pietermaritzburg, they and final victory and vindication. A instituted an annual firewalking festival strong, spirited and outspoken woman, during the 1890s, one which has been she was the faithful wife of the five observed to the present. Pandava brothers. When, through the Tamils trace their descent back to treachery of their relatives, the Kaura- the ancient indigenous Dravidian peo- vas, her family lost their inheritance, ple of south India and Sri Lanka who and went into lengthy exile in the for- have lived in the east and south of the est, she courageously cared for them. sub-continent for millennia, pre-dating She survived numerous attempts by the arrival of the Aryans by more than men to seduce and humiliate her, her a thousand years. The main Dravid- religious faith and purity bringing her ian languages are Tamil, Telugu, Kan- safely through these ordeals. Eventu- nada and Malayalam. Their religion as ally vindicated, she demonstrated her practised today retains many features faithfulness and purity by her safe pas- of some of the oldest manifestations sage through fire, an event recorded in of religion still in existence, giving it the Tamil version of the Mahabharata. a unique quality, much of it worthy of Draupadi’s odyssey reflects a quest preservation. for spiritual perfection where, after Early Hindu settlers arrived in Pieter enduring and overcoming various tri- maritzburg from about 1865, estab- als and hardships, she finally achieves lishing two temples at the lower end purification and sanctification. Her ul- of Longmarket Street, the Sri Siva timate ordeal of walking through fire is Soobramoniar and Marriamen (sic) an apotheosis, transforming her into a temples. These temples are the two Goddess worthy of the worship of her oldest in the city, officially opened in devotees, who must imitate her exem- 1925, although the Soobramoniar tem- plary life. Draupadi is a much revered ple had been constructed between 1908 name in Hindu households. and 1915, replacing an earlier wood- The richly symbolic Draupadi fire- and-iron structure. It is here, as well as walking festival involves devotees in Tamil homes all round the city, that participating in various rituals and dra- important Tamil religious observances mas recounting aspects of Draupadi’s and festivals are celebrated, preserving story, preparing themselves for the their ancient and rich culture and wor- climactic fire walk, where the Goddess ship. is believed to spread her sari over the The deity Soobramoniar (also known fire, cooling the coals to protect the as Muruga) is one of the sons of the su- faithful. preme God Shiva, believed to possess The majority of the Hindu inden- great healing power, celebrated twice tured labourers who came to Natal annually at the Kavadi festival, attract- from 1860 onwards were Tamils from ing very large crowds. the area around the great south Indian The second temple on this site is city of Madras (now Chennai) in the dedicated to the indigenous south In-

The dome of the Mariamman temple

The dome of the Soobramoniar temple

Natalia 4545 (2015)(2015) CopyrightCopyright ©© NatalNatal SocietySociety FoundationFoundation 20152015 The Tamil heritage in Pietermaritzburg dian Goddess Mariamman, and other knowledge of the various Indian lan- powerful Amman (Mother) goddesses, guages. Many Hindus believe attempts guardians of the earth in all its mani- to recover knowledge of their original festations. The front pediment shows languages will contribute significantly Mariamman seated on her lion vehi- towards the revival and maintenance cle, symbol of her fearsome, protective of both cultural and religious knowl- power. edge. Kistappa Reddy, a young indentured Because of this, various local Tamil labourer who arrived in South Africa associations have started numerous af- from the Madras area of south India ternoon classes to teach the vernacular in 1898, was a bricklayer who soon to children. Some classes are also run turned his very considerable talent to for groups of very enthusiastic adults, temple designing and building. Over particularly senior citizens. the years, until his death in 1941, he Another factor in this recent revival stamped his distinctive style on many of pride in their heritage is the open- highly regarded south Indian, Tamil- ing of post-apartheid South Africa to oriented temples, on the Natal north the world community, and with this and south coasts, at Mount Edgecombe, the increasing number of Tamil films Canelands, Newlands, Esperanza, and (with English sub-titles) being shown the First Umbilo Temple in Durban. at major movie venues round the Because of his competence and artistic country, as well as the availability of flair he was increasingly employed on many films on DVD, and the renewed temple projects, and in 1909 came to interest these have stimulated in Ta- Pietermaritzburg to make his contribu- mil music and dance. SATV 2 has a tion of the exuberant, uniquely “folk- Sunday morning Indian-themed pro- sy” domes on the two temples. Durban gramme, Mela, at noon, “showcasing architects Mikula, Kearney and Har- the uniquely South African Indian ber claim, “In the history of ‘classical’ experience”, and a lively Facebook South African Temples, Reddy must page. A number of Indian channels are retain the position as master.” featured on DSTV such as ZEE TV In the last 10 years or so I have and Glow, presenting movies, series, observed a number of developments cookery programmes, documentaries, which I believe could be indicators of and music, although Tamil interests do a nascent Tamil renaissance in this city not feature prominently. However, The and around the province. South African Tamil Federation has a The Tamil language (Thamizh), Facebook page with ongoing news and spoken by these early settlers, was comment. gradually replaced by English as the Evidence of a new generation of mother tongue of the Indian commu- young people taking pride in their nity. Although this loss of the language Tamil culture is the growing number of their grandparents is an indication of youngsters singing in choirs at re- of how successfully South African In- ligious functions, and the growth in dians adapted to life in this country, popularity of eisteddfods featuring recently this decline in the use of the Tamil music. vernacular has been regretted, with In January 2005 the two Tamil concerted efforts made to re-introduce temples in Longmarket (now Lang

Natalia 45 (2015) Copyright © Natal Society Foundation 2015 The Tamil heritage in Pietermaritzburg alibalele) Street embarked on the Kistappa Reddy dome of this temple important task of renovating these in order to make way for the newly extremely busy temples. Generally constructed one. An irreplaceable part considered to be fine examples of of the legacy of the original settlers south Indian temple architecture with was surely worthy of a better fate than their colourful pediments and domes being consigned to the demolisher’s decorated with images of Hindu hammer. Perhaps it could have been deities, they had in recent years fallen dismantled and moved to another into a state of considerable disrepair. part of the temple compound where it This was due mainly to a lack of funds, could have become part of a specially and because, ideally, the work needed constructed shrine to preserve this to be done by specialist builders from charming example of “folk” south India. The South African apartheid Indian Hindu architecture. It seems authorities refused to grant permission somewhat ironic that something so for craftsmen to come from India, but valuable, with links to the earliest and this obstacle was finally overcome, finest building of temples in South allowing for the refurbishment to Africa, had to be lost in order for commence. the “restoration” of the temple to be For approximately two years, until accomplished. 2007, temple architects and artisans Although for me tinged with regret, especially imported from Tamil Nadu the extensive renovation of these in south India worked on replacing the extremely busy temples, at great dome and the front pediment of the expense to the local community, Soobramoniar Temple, meticulously and the fact that the committee and carving a plethora of lively devotees of the temples committed deities from the Hindu pantheon: themselves to raise the one million Soobramoniar on his peacock vehicle or more Rands for the project, are and his two consorts, the monkey God heartening evidence of an increasingly Hanuman, Ganesha the pot-bellied, deeply felt sense on the part of the local smiley elephant-headed deity, and Tamil people of pride in their heritage, many others. Obvious changes are the and a desire to honour the legacy left considerably higher dome which is by their ancestors. more in keeping with the dimensions Another significant move initiated of the whole building, the central front by the temple committees is a pediment focusing exclusively on series of talks given in the evenings Soobramoniar and his two wives, the during important festivals such as lavishly decorated shrine to Hanuman the firewalking and Durga Puja on the right hand side of the temple, (also known as Navarathri). These and new decorations on the pillars at addresses are planned to promote a the front, as well as some characterful fuller understanding of Tamil religion, cats adorning the Mariamman temple. such as addresses on the Goddess However, in the light of the praise Draupadi and her festival, as well as on of Mikula et al, and despite rejoicing other indigenous Dravidian goddesses in the glories of the “new” temple, I and deities. This is something of an can’t help but feel saddened by the innovation for a traditional Hindu total destruction of the original historic temple, as “sermons” have not usually

Natalia 45 (2015) Copyright © Natal Society Foundation 2015 The Tamil heritage in Pietermaritzburg been a feature of worship, and seems over from the aging performers. These to be further indication of a move to powerful dramas, like the medieval revitalise a sense of familiarity with Christian “miracle plays”, conveyed their Tamil heritage. knowledge of religious mythology to An additional unfortunate loss of largely illiterate devotees, and could heritage and religious knowledge still contribute to a familiarity with is that although the local Tamil sacred narratives, and so to a greater community appears to have preserved appreciation of the richness of the the ritual of the Draupadi festival most festival. meticulously throughout the 150 and This recent recognition of the value more years of their residence in South of their age-old inheritance, as well Africa, there has been considerable as the promising signs of attempts to loss of knowledge of the mythology extend knowledge of their religious upon which the ritual depends. An tradition and the contribution it could example of this is that the all-night make to the wider South African performance of the Tamil Terukkuttu religious scene, appears to indicate that street drama, which was a unique Tamil culture will make its presence part of the firewalking celebrations increasingly felt among the wealth at two Durban temples, has been of diverse traditions of this country, discontinued as too few people something which ultimately enriches understood the language, and there the whole nation. was nobody trained and willing to take