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Men roll along behind the palanquins filled with deities who accompany God Ganesha on his cart through the city of Hamm. While the Kamakshi temple is located on the outskirts of the town, this procession passes through a densely inhabited area of Hamm filled with pubs and shops. (Annual festival of the Sri Sithivinayakar temple in Hamm) |
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Women are never seen performing "body rolling" in Germany. Instead they may kneel down after two three steps, touch the ground with their forehead, get up and repeat the procedure after the next three steps. They are surrounded by a group of women singing devotional songs. The Sri Murukan temple in Hamm appears in the background. (August 2004). |
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Carrying pots with burning camphor on one's head is another practise exclusively done by women. Helpers with a supply of camphor (note second woman from the left) pay attention that the fire keeps burning all the time. Note the festive garments and jewellery of the participants. (Gummersbach, August 2003) |
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"Hook swinging" is a rare sight in Tamil temple festivals in Germany. This man was the first to perform this harsh practise during Goddess Kamakshi's festival in Hamm Uentrop in 2003. Fixed to hooks and ropes he is suspended from a special wooden structure mounted on a vehicle. The procession passes the buildings belonging to the industrial area where the temple is situated. |
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After having been pulled in a wide circle around the temple by devotees, the huge processional cart of the Goddess Kamakshi finally returns to its starting point. People push towards it to present their offerings and receive blessed food and ashes from the priests. (June 1999) |
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The newly built Sri Kamakshi temple inaugurated in 2002 is said to be the biggest Hindu temple in continental Europe. The elaborate towers in South Asian style were built and decorated by South Indian master craftsmen. On this occasion of the main goddess Kamakshi being taking out for a ceremonial bath, non-Hindu visitors are also present. (Hamm-Uentrop, June 2004) |
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The Goddess Kamakshi's temple festival normally attracts between 12,000 and 15,000 people. On the morning following the main day of worship, a group of close devotees take the processional image of the goddess to the nearby canal. Here, underneath a bridge, a trident representing the goddess is given an elaborate ceremonial bath. Then, the priests and other men who so desire take a bath in the canal too. This is considered a joyful and beneficial event near the end of the annual festival. (Hamm-Uentrop, June 2004) |
