Highgate Hill Murugan Chariot Pageant: Again within the first decade of this century my work lined a wider vary of cultural occasions than now, together with many non secular occasions on the streets of London. The 2010 election which put into energy a Tory-led authorities devoted to creating the poor poorer and themselves and their buddies richer modified that for me, resulting in 14 years dominated by overlaying protests – one thing which had solely been one strand of my work earlier than. I’m at the moment unsure if our current election will change my work which for the final months has been fully dominated by Palestine.
I didn’t completely cease photographing spiritual festivals and on Sunday tenth July 2011 went to Highgate the place the annual Highgate Hill Murugan Chariot Pageant was happening.
Right here I’ll copy what I wrote about it in 2011 with a couple of of the various footage I made on the occasion. You may see extra footage on My London Diary.
Murugan is a well-liked Hindu God in Tamil areas and the patronal god of the Tamil homeland Tamil Nadu. As God of warfare Murugan with six heads has a divine lance and different weapons and rides a peacock.
Within the Chariot Pageant individuals make choices to Murugan of baskets of fruits, notably coconuts, that are blessed and returned.
Males on one facet and ladies on the opposite pull on the lengthy ropes to take the chariot across the neighbourhood, whereas a conch shell offers an audible warning of its motion; different ladies carry kavadi (burdens) supplied to Murugan, chanting and carrying of pots, probably of coconut milk on their heads.
Some males roll half-naked alongside the bottom behind the chariot holding coconuts. Individuals sweep the highway to make their progress much less painful, and others anoint them with sacred ashes.
Highgate Hill Murugan Temple is without doubt one of the oldest and most well-known within the UK, however the celebrations right here appeared to be just a little extra restrained than these I’ve photographed at another London Murugan temples.
Maybe surprisingly, in Sri Lanka Murugan can also be revered by Sinhalese Buddhists.
On the ‘Historical past‘ web page of the Highgatehill Murugan Temple website online you may learn how the Hindu affiliation of Nice Britain was based in London on twenty third October 1966, and in 1977 was capable of purchase a spacious freehold property at 200A, Archway Highway, Highgate Hill. Right here they constructed the Temple which features a library, two Live performance Halls, a prayer corridor and a Priest’s flat which was opened in 1979, with a 3 storey Temple added a couple of years later. It was the primary Sri Llankan Hindu Temple within the UK.
Extra Photos: Highgate Hill Murugan Chariot Pageant
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Tags: baskets of fruit, charioit, Chariot Pageant, coconuts, God of warfare, Highgate Hill, Hindu, Hindu God, London, London Pictures, males rolling, Murugan, Murugan Temple, peter Marshall, sacred ash, Sri Lanka, Tamil homeland, Tamil Nadu, Tamils
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