Arts, Culture and Sport

The Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple in Seychelles

Good morning Africa once again from the colourful facade of Arulmigu Navasakthi Vinayagar, a Hindu temple in Mahe, Seychelles, the first and only Hindu temple in the country

Published

10 years ago

June 13, 2015

This Is Africa

Welcome to the Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple in Seychelles. The temple is so beautiful we just couldn’t resist visiting it one more time. However this time we are not only going to show you the photographs but we will give you a closer look and a quick historical background of this African wonder.

Hinduism boasts as the second largest religion in the Seychelles after Christianity, with a following of 2.4% of the country’s population. The Hindu following in Seychelles has seen an increase in the community with the organisation of the country’s Hindu Kovil Sangam and the consecration of the Navasakti Vinayagar Temple.

Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple

The Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple has Ganesha as the presiding deity.
Apart from the presiding deity, icons of Murugan, Nadarajah, Durga, Sreenivasa Perumal, Bhairawa and Chandekeswarar are enshrined in the inner mandapam of the temple.
Prayers are performed for the different deities on special occasions.
Taippoosam Kavadi Festival, which started in 1993 in Seychelles has gained popularity as a national festival to the extent that the government of Seychelles ended up declaring it a holiday for Hindus since 1998.
The famous Taippoosam Kavadi Festival, used to be held in the inner courtyard of the temple but it has since changed and it is now conducted in the outer courtyard where a chariot kavadi is also taken out in procession.

History of Hindus in Seychelles

It was propounded that in 1901 there were 332 Hindu families out of a population of 19,237 and roughly 3,500 Tamil speaking people.
In 1984 the organisation of the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam and the consecration of the Navasakti Vinayagar Temple in May 1992, were landmarks for the resurgence of Indian cultural activities apart from the religious awakening.
There has been an increase in percentage of Hindus in Seychelles from the 2002 to the 2010 census. Statistics show that there were over 2,150 Hindus in the Seychelles as of the 2010 Population and Housing Census, an increase of 500 from the 2002 census.