MARIAMMAN TEMPLE IN TAMAN SAMUDERA

Me at the temple

The temple priest bathing the statue of the Goddess
Closer shot of the bathing ritual

The pit for the firewalking ceremony at night
The special pit for burning
The Mariamman Temple in Taman Samudera
The spear or vel of the Goddess being adorned with limes, neem leaves and saris
Devotees prayer to the Goddess

Decorations adorn the temple
Neem leaves are strung together and hung on ceilings for good luck and good health
Statue of Ganesha
Sharveen and the temple priest
Statue of a Hindu God
Another statue
Temple priest drawing the curtain to reveal the sanctum of the Goddess Mariammah
9 different types of nut plants used for the cleaning ritual

On Monday, I got one of the school cleaners to help cook Laksa for my librarians and today I had to return to the cleaner, Kak Mah, the pots and other utensils used to hold the food. As Sharveen is on duty today, he went along with me to return the things.

Kak Mah's house was easy to find as it was located near three Indian temples. I knew that if I could locate the temples, then I'll be able to get to her house. Well, it was a breeze finding the place and after that I suggested to Sharveen that we would visit one of the temples. The temple we went to was the Mariammah temple. For your information, I have never been to any one of the three temples. To my surprise, I found that the statue of the Goddess Mariammah in the temple was the same one that I took photographs of on Tuesday night. I recognised the priest and some of the people in the temple and it was the same for them.

Well, I guess that when you are having a procession around the housing estates and in one of them you find a Chinese lady running out of her house to snap photos, you'd most certainly remember her. Anyway, I thought it was a real coincidence and also wondered why I was drawn to that particular temple. Maybe I had an affinity with the Goddess. I was told by Sharveen that yesterday was the birthday of the Goddess and that the temple was having a three-day celebration. At night the devotees would be walking over a lit charcoal pit. There will be a puja ceremony and other activities. The activities would start at 8.00 p.m. and I was invited to go but I had to decline as I had something else to do.

Before Sharveen and I left the temple, I got to witness the priest carrying out the idol bathing ritual whereby liquid like milk and honey were poured over the idol.