Seenigama Temple

On our way back from a small trip to Galle we stopped at the Seenigama temple in Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is a major surfer hangout and a popular spot for tourists. But one more interesting (and sinister) aspect to the town is the offshore temple pictured below:

The temple is located about two hundred metres offshore and can only be got to by boat. It is perched on a small island - the water around it is relatively shallow. We paid Rp 350 (300 = foreigner, 50 = Kumudu) to get a ride out to the island - I think the boat ride was the best part actually.

This is a picture I took while I was on the boat. I was worried that I might drop the camera in the water because the boat was so narrow and the water was quite choppy. However, after some careful handling I managed to take this hurried picture. The boat, I think, is a fishing boat, but might be dedicated just to ferrying people and supplies between the mainland and the island - I'm not really sure.

This is the temple in question. It is built in the typical Sri Lankan style and is a kovil or Hindu Temple. It is dedicated to - get this - Dewol deviyo (the god - with a small 'g' mind - called Dewol) who is a malicious and malevolent deity that one worships if revenge is required! All the people crowded on the small island (see below) are dedicated to this task:

First, the people will enter the structure above where there is an image of the Dewol deviyo. Clasping small bowls of garlic, chilli and other acrid and pungent spices, a small puja takes place presided over by a priest (compare these gifts with other Hindu temples - usually sweet fruits like mango, pineapple, etc are given, but here 'angry' spices are supplied - clearly the malevolent deity only feeds upon these pungent substances).

Next, they take the offering outside where everyone lines up (it is the only place in Sri lanka I have seen where people actually queue properly!) so they can take their turn with the priest. Kumudu reported that the priest asked what their problem was, the people then proceed to tell the priest how they were wronged. After that, the offering is crushed with a pestle (representing the deity feeding on the gift I take it, and the rock itself being the very maw of the deity).

During all of this the priest chants incantations asking that 'justice' (or revenge - depending on whether a genuine wrong has been carried out) be done and the transgressor punished. The general idea is that either: a) something very bad will happen to the person who did wrong, or b) they will be revealed as the culprit if the wrong doer is not already known. I suspect, however, that many people go to the temple simply to try and precipitate some cosmic punishment on people they dislike! Below is the remains of the offering after it is crushed. There is a very pungent smell that hangs in the air on account of these ground spices.

Finally, I discovered this curious statue located near the temple (it was quite a cramped area mind you, being that it was an island and there were quite a few people already on it). I could not figure out who the image is of, but I suspect that it is actually some detrius discovered on the island after the tsunami that had been made into a makeshift shrine. As it turns out, the temple itself miraculously suffered no damage after the tsunami! This was taken to be highly auspicious, and proof that the deity is both very powerful and very real. On the whole, I found the whole place very powerful and beautiful.