RICH AND VIBRANT KAVADY CULTURE OF INDENTURED LABOURERS CONTINUES TO FLOURISH IN SOUTH AFRICA

BY SUBRY GOVENDER

(A LARGE CROWD OF DEVOTEES PREPARING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE KAVADY CEREMONY AT THE UMDLOTI DRIFT TEMPLE IN VERULAM)

(SENIOR OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MR G K MOODLEY, OF THE UMDLOTI DRIFT TEMPLE LEADING THE 2018 KAVADY CEREMONY)

(A YOUNG DEVOTEE CARRYING THE KAVADY AND WALKING TOWARDS THE TEMPLE) The rich cultures and traditions brought by our forefathers and mothers to South Africa since the 1860s continues brightly and with all the spirit and vigour today. This has been demonstrated over the past week when thousands of people participated in the second day of the Kavady religious ceremony all over the country today (Feb 4).

(DEVOTEES CARRYING THEIR KAVADIES AND WALKING INTO THE TEMPLE GROUNDS) The first day of the religious ceremony took place on Wednesday (January 31). Our ancestors brought along the vibrant tradition of the Kavady when they were recruited to work as indentured labourers (or slaves) on the sugar plantations of the then Natal Colony. The Natal Colony was at that time in 1860 a colony of the British Empire. Our ancestors passed on the rich tradition of Kavady to their children and grand-children where ever they worked on the sugar plantations on the north and south coast of the Natal Colony and in and around the city of Durban. Today the Kavady ceremony is continued by the fourth, fifth and sixth generation descendants in all the towns and cities where they are settled.

I visited and observed the rich spiritual day at the 118-year-old Umdloti Drift temple and the nearby Tower Road Temple in Verulam, north of the city of Durban in South Africa.

(DEVOTEES AT THE TOWER ROAD TEMPLE IN LOTUSVILLE, VERULAM)

(TOWER ROAD TEMPLE DEVOTEES WALKING TOWARDS THE TEMPLE) Similar ceremonies were observed at temples all over the KwaZulu-Natal province in areas such as KwaDukuza, Tongaat, Mount Edgecombe, Phoenix, Durban, Chatsworth, Merebank, Isipingo, and Umkomaas, Umzinto, Park Rynie and Port Shepstone on the south coast of province. Kavady ceremonies were also observed in temples in the Johannesburg-Pretoria region, Port Elizabeth, East London and Cape Town. Devotees of all ages - men, women, boys and girls - showed their commitment by not only carrying the holy bamboo structures but by also participating in the singing of devotional songs. Many of the devotees also showed their faith by pulling chariots of all sizes and shapes. There were also members of Bhajan groups who provided support for devotees by singing religious songs and pelting musical drums.

(MR REGGY NAIDOO WITH OTHER OFFICIALS HELPING DEVOTEES IN THEIR KAVADY PRAYERS)

One of the officials at the Umdloti Drift Temple, Mr Reggy Naidoo, told me that he had been associated with the Kavady ceremony from a young age since the early 1940s. His father at that time was a senior official of the temple. “We are continuing with this ceremony because it is an important part of our culture and traditions,” he said. “On Wednesday we had more than 700 devotees carrying the Kavady and today more than 400 participated in the ceremony. I think from next year, we will try to hold the Kavady on one day. This will be on the official Thai Poosam day.

(ONE OF THE DEVOTEES AT THE UMDLOTI DRIFT TEMPLE) “This is a rich tradition that will continue for ever and ever”, he said. What is amazing about this religious ceremony is that scores of officials and volunteers are involved fully in ensuring that the devotees offer their prayers without any problems. Officials and volunteers were seen helping the devotees in preparing their Kavadies and leading the prayer processions. Another official involved in the ceremony, Mr Danny Chetty, said they were privileged to be involved. “This is a rich legacy and we have to ensure that future generations continue with what had been bequeathed by our ancestors,” he said. “It is absolutely fantastic to see so many young boys and girls and teenagers participating the Kavady ceremony. We have to encourage all our young people to become involved.”

(A BHAJAN GROUP LEADING DEVOTEES TO THE TEMPLE)

At the Tower Road temple in Lotusville, Verulam, devotees appeared to be just as vigorous and vibrant. In addition to the normal-size bamboo Kavady strcutures, they also pulled huge chariots. At one stage of the ceremony, a number of the devotees were seen running while pulling the chariots.

(DEVOTEES AT THE TOWER ROAD TEMPLE IN LOTUSVILLE, VERULAM)

(DEVOTEES AT THE TOWER ROAD TEMPLE IN LOTUSVILLE, VERULAM)

The annual Kavady ceremony demonstrates that the rich and vibrant cultures of the people of Indian-origin in South Africa continues to flourish despite all the problems of oppression and suppression they suffered not only at the hands of colonisers but also by people who tried to impose their own thinking on our people. Some of these people unashamedly continue to try to hoodwink the poor and the uninformed. They must immediately desist from pursuing their nefarious, immoral and anti-spiritual activies. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com