The Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple is a Hindu temple within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. The oldest Hindu temple in the state, it was built in 1833, and features sculptures of gods and goddesses over its main entrance and facade.
It is also known as Mariamman Temple or Queen Street Indian Temple. Throughout the years, the Sri Mahamariamman temple has also been known by several names: Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, Sri Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple. All these names refer to the same temple. The temple is open daily from 6:30 am - 12:00 noon and 4:30 pm - 9:00 pm. It became a place of worship as early as 1801 and became a temple in 1833. It has stood at the same place for more than 200 years.
Temple site The temple is in central Georgetown on Lebuh Queen (Queen Street) and the back entrance is on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street), in between Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh Chulia. Located in Penang's "Little India", in the capital city of Georgetown, the Sri Maha Mariamman temple reflects the city's rich cultural heritage.
Visitation to this temple is limited to morning and evening. Temple opens starts from morning 6 am till 12 pm and evening from 5 pm till 9 pm. The temples closes after the prayers are performed at 12 pm and 9 pm respectively. Daily there will be Pujas (prayers), mornings 7.30 am and evening 6.30 pm. Prayers are usually conducted by the temple priests in these times and visitors may observe these prayer sessions taking place. If you wish to enter the Sri Mahamariamman temple, it would be polite to ask permission from any of the priests and please remember to remove your shoes before entering the temple grounds.
Daily Poojas Darshan (meaning open to the public) hours are from 6 am to 9 pm. Temple is closed from 12:15 pm and reopened at 4:30 pm and closed at 9:15 pm.
The temple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Abishegam or Thirumanjanam is anointment of the idol with oils, sandalwood paste, milk, unguents and the like and then bathing it with water in an act of ritual purification. The most prominent abishegams are conducted at the ceremonies to mark the hours of the day. These are four in number - the Kaala Santhi, early in the morning, the Ucchikālam, in the afternoon, the Sāyaratchai, in the evening and the Ardha Jāmam, at night, immediately prior to the temple being closed for the day.
Each ritual comprises four steps: abishegam (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), naivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) all the deities. After the abishegam, it is the practice to dress the idols of the deities, in an act called alangaram, in one of several guises. The worship is held with religious instructions in the Vedas (Sanskrit sacred texts) and Thirumurai (Tamil sacred texts) read by priests. These hours are marked by the tolling of the bell of the temple amidst music with nadaswaram (pipe instrument) and thavil (percussion instrument).
Devotees are able to perform archanai by the priest thereafter.
Abishegam (6 am) Kaala Santhi (7:30 am) Abishegam (11:45 am) Utchikkalam Pooja (12 pm) Abishegam (5:30 am) Sāyaratchai (6:30 pm) Abishegam (8:45 am) Ardha Jāmam (9 pm) Please note that on festivals and special occasions, Abishegam and Poojas start earlier than the scheduled time.
History
The tropical island of Penang lies in the Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Penang's rapid growth as a trading hub in the early 19th century, especially in commodities such as nutmegs, cloves, and pepper, attracted traders from Europe, America, Arabia, India as well as China. Each then established communities and adopted lifestyles similar to their homeland. It was during that time that the Tamil Indians arrived in the island's bustling harbour, and established their own Little India community in the city. The early Indian settlers, who came to this island to toil and trade, established an abode for mother, so that her presence could be felt as their guardian deity and guide in their times of trials and tribulations.
Dating back as early as 1801, the Sri Mahamariamman Temple is recognised as an elaborate and spiritual place of worship. Like most Indian temples in Penang, the Penang Sri Mahamariamman began as a small and simple shrine. Not much is known about the early days of the temple or of the persons who founded it. The land was granted in 1801 by the British to Betty Lingam Chetty, who was then the Kapitan (Headman, Kepala or Community Leader) of the Tamils and South Indians. This is confirmed by another grant written in 1831. But, as to how the temple came to be built on this land or who founded it, there is no information.
Caption James Low confirms the existence of a temple in Georgetown in 1835. That the Mariamman temple was founded in 1833 is first mentioned in a notice of 'Kumbabishegam' (consecration ceremony) held one hundred years later in 1933. But except for the date, not much else has been said about its founding in that document.
Built originally as a shrine, it was later that the Indian community found a need for a proper temple ground for worshipping, to accommodate the ever-increasing Indian community presence on the island. This was done to ensure that the Indian community, which includes the merchants, labourers and sepoys, are settled in one particular area, for ease of managing the group. The majority of the people who lived around the temple were waterfront workers who were the backbone of the Penang port. These Indian stevedores were organised in groups called kootam – a member of a kootam is a kootakadai, and heading each kootam is a thandal. Together, the Indian community numbered about 2000 workers and they inhabited the area bounded by Lebuh Queen, Lebuh King, Lebuh Penang, Lebuh Pasar and Lebuh Gereja, an area collectively known as Ellammuchanthi in Tamil, or Simpang Lelong in Malay.
The Sri Mahamariamman shrine was enlarged into a temple in 1833. Since this was when it became a proper temple, 1833 is taken as the year that it was founded. At the time of its founding, it was known as the Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple. It was only in 1980 that it became known by its present name, Sri Arulmigu Mahamariamman Temple, although the name is often written as Sri Mariamman Temple, Mahamariamman Temple and so on.
From its inception, the temple provided an important place of worship for early Indian immigrants and is now an important cultural and national heritage. In those days, it was done to ensure the Indian community, which includes the early working settlers like merchants and labourers are settled in one area to ease managing them. By 1833, the shrine through the efforts of the Indian settlers, turned to a temple and was renovated to its present form a hundred years later.
According to a document of civil suit brought before the courts in 1904, the names of five trustees who looked after the temple from 1892 till 1904 are Veerasamy, Murugan Chettiyar, Govindasamy Pillai, Veleritta Taver and Meyappah. The temple came under The Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board in 1906. From then onwards the temple has been administrated by the management committee appointed by the Endowment Board. It appears that from the beginning of the Endowments Board's administration, a few temples and other institutions have been clustered and left under the care of this management committee: Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple in Waterfall (Hilltop), the Arulmigu Sri Ganesha Temple in Waterfall, the Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Queen Street, Hindu Cemetery and Cremation Ground in Batu Lanchang and a Hindu Funeral Rites Ground in Jalan Air Itam. From 1967 onwards, the board is known as the Hindu Endowments Board, which is currently managing this temple.
Hindu Mahajana Sangam The Hindu Mahajana Sangam () which was formed in 1935, has had close association with this temple and other temples under the care of the same management. Before 1935, it was known as Kootakkadai (). Many members have served in both institutions. They have also been associated with the temple's formation, renovation and maintenance. The festivals conducted by the Hindu Mahajana Sangam such as Chitraparuvam, Vijayadhsami and Aatakavadi during Thaipoosam is associated with this temple.
First Kumbabishegam (1933) It was in 1933 that the temple acquired the present form and structure. In that year the temple was extensively renovated. According to the notice of the consecration ceremony, the foundation stone for the new structure was laid by Mr. V. Natesam Pillay, JP. The Sri Muthu Mariamman temple having become too small and too decayed, the Hindu gentlemen of Penang, with their initiative and perseverance, have bought up two buildings to the north of the temple, expanded the presence space and formed a temple in accordance with the Siva agamas a sanctum, Arthamandapam (antechamber), Mahamandapam (hall), prakaram (circumambient), vimanam (dome), surrounding walls and Rajagopuram (entrance tower). These renovations were carried out by a management committee consisting of S. Ekamparam Pillai, C. Subbaraya Pillay, S. P. Natesam Pillay, P. Kalimuthu Vandayar, K. V. Karuppiah Thandal and M. R. Raju.
The consecration ceremony was held on Sunday, 12 June 1933.
Second Kumbabishegam (1958) It is also known that further repairs were done in 1958 and a consecration ceremony, albeit on a small scale was carried out under the leadership of Mr. Doraisamy Thevar JP PJK who was the chairman of the temple management committee.
Third Kumbabishegam (1980) Since 1958, no repairs or renovations were done to the temple. This caused some serious decay to the structures and sculptures. From 1978 till 1980, extensive renovation was done. A sculptor from the Academy of Sculptors in Mahapalipuram, Chennai and two assistant sculptors were brought from India to restore the structure. Although the basic form of the 1933 structure had been retained, many new areas have been added. A new hall 31 feet × 27 feet, suitable for small religious functions, has been added and over this, another story has been added for administrative offices.
While most of the sculptures have been preserved, some new ones have also been added, the statues of the nine forms of Sakthi now surround the outer walls of the sanctum. The inner walls of the sanctum, antechamber and the flooring of the whole temple have been changed. The entire temple has been repainted. The smaller shrines of Visvanathar, Visalatchi, Chandikeswarar and Bairavar have domes of their own which have been gold plated. Within the sanctum, a new statue of Mahamariamman, towering over the main deity, has been formed. At the feet of the main deity, a Sri Chakram has also been erected. A Vishnu Dhurga idol was newly installed.
The temple's name which was known as Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple till then was changed to Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple.
The consecration ceremony was held on Sunday, 14 December 1980.
Fourth Kumbabishegam (1998) The present renovation was begun in mid-1997. While basically preserving the existing temple structure, some minor modifications were made such as replacing of tiles in the sanctum and the whole temple flooring, replacing the peedam in the sanctum, replacing the Komugi, a new Ganesha, Visveswarar, Rahu and Kethu icons, new Navagraha peedam, new flag post with concrete base, statues of Bala Ganesha and Bala Murugan, Ashta Lakshmi 8 statues and two lion statues on the left and right of the temple main entrance. The Bairavar shrine is moved to the north-east corner, facing south.
The consecration ceremony was held on Thursday, 3 September 1998.
Fifth Kumbabishegam (2016)