Trinidad Hindu Festival and Temple Guide

Indo-Trinidadian heritage

The first indentured labourers from India arrived in Trinidad on the Fatel Razack on 30 May 1845 — a date now marked by Indian Arrival Day, a public holiday. Between 1845 and 1917 about 140,000 Indians came to work on the plantations, and their descendants make up a large part of the population. Hindu traditions remain strong in central and south Trinidad, around Chaguanas, Couva, Carapichaima and San Fernando.

Temples and sacred places

• Temple in the Sea, Waterloo — the Shiva temple built in the Gulf of Paria by Sewdass Sadhu, rebuilt in 1995.
• The Dattatreya Temple in Orangefield, Carapichaima, with its towering Karyasiddhi Hanuman statue.
• The Indian Caribbean Museum in Waterloo tells the story of Indian arrival and life in Trinidad.

Festivals

• Divali — a public holiday; villages and towns glow with thousands of deyas, and the National Council for Indian Culture holds Divali Nagar at Chaguanas in the days before.
• Phagwa (Holi) — joyful colour celebrations with chowtal singing in spring.
• Ramleela — open-air performances of the Ramayana in villages during Navratri.
• Maha Shivaratri — night prayers at temples, including the Temple in the Sea.

Timings

Trinidad keeps Atlantic Standard Time all year (UTC−4, nine and a half hours behind India), so festival tithis can fall a day earlier than in India. Use the Trinidad panchang (Port of Spain).