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Ceremonial
Worship of a Volcano in Cedros
BY
DR. KUMAR MAHABIR *
The
mud volcano in Columbia coconut estate in Fullerton, Cedros, Trinidad, is
revered annually with a puja [ceremonial worship]. In their homes during
the night, villagers hear the sound of the mud bubbling in the belly of
the earth. Hindus interpret this sound as a reminder to pray and perform
puja near the volcano. If they do not make offerings to the volcano,
Hindus believe that Mother Durga will be angry with them and blow off the
top of the plateau.
Already
the volcano has spread its mud, destroying acres of valuable agricultural
land. The overflow has covered everything in its path. Mangrove trees have
begun to grow on the margins of the plateau as an adaptation to the new
ecosystem. The emissions have altered the landscape.
The
mud volcano is active with constant emissions of bubbling hot water and
soft clay. Fine sediments flow through surface cracks, which form cones as
they cool. For most of the time, the cones splutter with small spurts of
mud. The cones are usually not more than three feet [1 metre] high.
Though
there is no immediate danger, devotees are not taking chances. The
constant swelling of the mud domes and the increasing deposits around the
orifices are a source of worry. The escape of methane gas from the
subsurface is also a source of concern. Methane gas boils and churns clay
and salt water, and ejects them as slurry of fine solids. The outpourings
may even submerge nearby homes, livestock and vegetation as in Piparo and
Devil’s Woodyard. There are about 20 mud volcanoes in Trinidad,
including the recent active formation in the sea at Mayaro. The most
visited are the active mud volcanoes in Piparo and Devil’s Woodyard. The
latter is past Princes
Town through Indian Walk, and into
Hindustan Road. The volcano in Devil’s Woodyard erupted violently
in 1852; seven years after the first wave of Indians came to Trinidad as
indentured labourers in 1845. The volcano in Piparo is also located in
South Trinidad near an exquisite Hindu temple that is also a sight to
behold with its superb craftsmanship, fine details and extravagant
interior. The volcano erupted in 1996, unleashing a tidal wave of mud that
slowly submerged 15 houses. Annually, during the month of April, Hindus
perform puja to placate the spirit of the volcano in Cedros from wreaking
further destruction. They also express gratitude and appreciation that it
has not done more damage. They know that scientists cannot accurately
predict an eruption, and that government agencies can only put plans in
place for an evacuation.
The
mystical appeal of a bubbling volcano
The
balk puja is a grand event in Cedros, attracting scores of religious
adherents and curious onlookers for decades. Pilgrims and visitors drive
one mile inside Columbia
coconut estate, up steep winding slopes into forested land with wild trees
and shrubs. Old folks travel up the mountain out of a sense of tradition.
The journey to the hilltop is a metaphor for the ascent to spiritual
enlightenment.
The
spluttering and bubbling of the volcano is a curious phenomenon, which,
for religious adherents, has a strong mystical appeal. Hindus have made
this volcano the object of veneration through fear of its inexplicable
natural power. They believe that Goddess Durga resides miles underground
in a chamber fed by flows of magna from deep within the earth. Durga is
believed to be the Mother of the Universe. She is perceived to be the
power behind the work of creation, preservation and destruction of the
world.
Like
native Indians in the early Americas, Indians in Trinidad revere a volcano
as a sacred place and a veneration of nature. Some years ago, parents
would take their children to have their first haircut near the mud mound.
Hindus believe that a puja performed near the dome is the most effective
way to communicate with god. The volcano is believed to respond
immediately to human prayer and ritual.
Hindus
make an altar with the soft clay of a fresh eruption on the side of the
plateau. On the altar, they make offerings [jagaway] of flowers, fruits,
leaves, grains, water, etc. to Goddess Durga. In Hindu iconography, Durga
is represented sitting on a lion, suggesting that she has complete control
of dangerous forces. Hindus use the clay to make miniature murtis
[statues], and the sick apply it to treat skin diseases.
Nine
women make offerings from a lota [brass jug] on a large bubbling cone. The
Pandit [priest] chants Agnihotri mantras while a row of devotees touch the
shoulder of one another. The ceremony climaxes with the planting of a
jhandi [flagstaff] in the hole (“mouth”) of a bubbling vent.
Vegetarian meals, non-alcoholic drinks and fruits are served to all at the
end of the event.
Dr
Kumar Mahabir is Professor,
University
of
Trinidad and Tobago
(UTT)an anthropoligst and Chairman,
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC), President, Association of Caribbean
Anthropologists (ACA). His email address is: mahab@tstt.net.tt
.
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