Malabar temples—Religious service—Revenues attached to the temples—Mode of consecration.
I shall now give you a description of the temples in Malabar and their form of structure.
They are termed pagodas, or houses of the gods, who are supposed to inhabit them and to receive in them the devotions of the pious. They are mostly built of stone; the grandest glitter with copper roofs. All the architectural talents of the heathen have been devoted to the erection of these edifices: their dwellings on the other hand are wretched; generally mere low mean huts; but the temples far surpass in grandeur any of the royal palaces. I have seen a highly ornamented pagoda at Cranganoor, in which the gateway of the exterior gallery is surmounted with an arch of such skilful workmanship that even in Europe it would be admired as a work of art. We sometimes find arches and facings of marble, a material not found in Malabar. A wall furnished with a good front gateway encloses a quadrangle; within this enclosure is an empty uncovered space, free to every one, even the christians and the unclean castes. This reminds me of the court of the gentiles, in Solomon’s temple. The pagoda itself stands in the centre of this enclosure; the exterior of the building consists of a covered gallery open on the inside, though from without it appears to be all one. This gallery, which traverses all four sides of the edifice may be likened to the second court of the temple, frequented by the priests and Israelites. Within this again stands the house itself, surmounted by a pointed roof, and in the centre of this sanctuary there is a square stone elevation like an altar, its four corners furnished with four columns, on which stands the idol. This image is made of various materials. I have seen silver specimens; they are sometimes gilt, but copper is the most common material. I have a few of these in my possession, which were taken at the pillage of the rich pagoda of Pounetour Namboori; they give one a good idea of the hideousness of the gods before whom these people prostrate themselves. Some are likenesses of men with elephant’s trunks, others have four, six, or more arms, and others two or more heads. The temples are all dedicated to special deities, as was the case with those of the Greeks and Romans, and the patron idol in each pagoda presides over the others; his form surpassing theirs both in size and splendour. I have seen a copper cow at the pagoda at Cranganoor, almost as large as life. As the gods are supposed to delight in illuminations, several lamps both iron and copper, fastened into the walls of the second court on both sides, are lighted up on feast days.
There are cavities along the walls of the inside gallery, something like baking ovens, in which rajahs, princes, or private individuals may deposit their treasures for security. The keys of these treasure chambers are always kept by the proprietors, who may obtain access to them when they please with the assistance of the brahmins who have the care of the temple. No christian, jew, or moor, may penetrate into this sanctuary, though the gates are suffered to stand open, and we may approach as far as the threshold, but not near enough to obtain a sight of the interior; this I have found by experience; for if we attempted to intrude too far, we should be pushed back, as the temple would be polluted, and must then undergo fresh consecration and various ceremonies in order to render it fit again for the offices of religion. This would be the case even if we were merely to enter the tanks or wells in which the brahmins, bound by their law, bathe daily; they would be contaminated and require fresh consecration to purify them. For their folly is such that they imagine that purity consists not in the cleanliness of the soul, but of that of the body. Not alone men of other religions are prohibited from entering their temples, but the same rule is extended even to the low and despised castes among themselves, a practice which runs counter to the notions of all other nations. For as the mere touch of these miserable creatures would defile a brahmin or a member of the higher castes, so would their presence the temple of the gods, of whose favour and notice they are unworthy. The daily services of the temple consist of prayers and devotions offered three times a day, morning, noon, and night. The devotees perambulate the outer court thrice, making their sombaie, or reverence (a gesture performed by bending forward and striking the forehead with clasped hands), each time they come opposite the door of the pagoda. The brahmins observe a similar routine in the innermost gallery of the sanctuary, muttering prayers all the time. Then the first priest steps up to the altar and sprinkles holy water and flowers on the image, which act forms the daily sacrifice, for no blood must be shed in or near the temple. Estates are invariably attached to the pagodas from which they derive considerable revenues ; and their wealth is increased by the offerings and alms of the faithful. I saw at Porcad two stone images, man and woman, which have stood for ages by the side of the river, so near, that in the rainy season they are flooded ; bags hang from their necks to receive the offerings of passengers on the river, who throw into them a portion of their fruits, rice, nely, &c., as an alms-giving to the adjacent pagoda. Rich pagodas are burdened with a number of brahmins, perhaps 200 or 300, who must be fed : for so these Malabar priests cunningly contrive to be supported gratis. Besides this, at many of the rajah’s courts are places called marroe, where food is dispensed to any brahmin who demands it. There is one good thing about these pagodas, that they furnish provision for any wayfarers of their own religion, who resort to*them ; rice is never refused. They serve in this respect like hospitals or charitable establishments, where a man, however poor and destitute he may be, can always find shelter.
I had almost forgotten to state, that when in the daily service the priests come to the performance of the Sombaie, or reverence, the first priest holds up the image while the others bend their knees to it.
On certain national feasts a solemn procession takes place. The idol, finely ornamented and placed in a palanquin or set up on an elephant and covered with a canopy, is paraded about accompanied with music, and every body must perform the Sombaie before it. Thus still exists the procession of the tabernacle of Moloch, which, among the Egyptians, Syrians and other Gentiles, used to cause the children of Israel to sin. The low castes who may not enter the temple, are permitted to attend at a distance on some of these occasions, and to deposit their donations of fanams before the temple ; for though not admitted, they are compelled to contribute to its support, as if it were a privilege so to do. They possess temples of their own constructed of dried palm leaves ; and if they could afford to build them of stone they must yet cover them with palm leaves : they have no brahmins for their priests, but members of their own caste minister the offices of religion.
Near some pagodas, as those of Valdurti and Monton, outside the enclosure stands a stone, at which the Nairs, who are permitted to partake of the flesh of all animals except cows, offer sacrifices of blood: here also they offer up vows to their deities to obtain the boon of fertility for their estates, promising in return to sacrifice so many cocks. When the day for the sacrifice arrives, thousands assemble, and the Nairs officiate at the solemnity in place of the brahmins, who may not touch the bodies of dead animals. The chief called Belka Paru first advances, cuts off the head of a cock which he throws on the ground, letting the blood run on the stone, and then he takes the body home to his house, and devours it with his family. The others in succession follow his example, each sacrificing and eating his own cock. In the consecration of a new pagoda the building is first sprinkled with water and the leaves of the Ixora, and then smeared with cowdung; this done ten or twelve cows, as sacred beasts, are tied up inside the building and fed with grass; then with waters taken from four sources, the Ganges, the sea, the river near which the pagoda stands, and the opposite side of the same river, they sanctify the idol, the presiding genius of the temple: they next take a number of dishes (they must not be fewer than 49—but generally there are as many as 101 of them) made of gold, silver, copper or stone, filled with raw rice and covered with party coloured cloths, over which are strewed flowers and figures representing the 27 stars under the influence of which the days of the month are placed. These figures are made of gold or silver, on each of which the name of the star is inscribed. These dishes remain in the pagoda for a period of 21 or 41 days according to pleasure, during which time the brahmins assembled to the same number that there are dishes, offer up prayers to the tri-une godhead, Brama, Vishnu and Siva; when this is over, a fire lighted in the quadrangle must be brought before the altar, on which the image is then set up, and fastened with mortar mixed up of various adhesive substances, pearl-dust, sugar, honey, cake, &c., and the brahmins must be regaled for eleven or twelve days.
If the temple were to be polluted by the presence of a christian or a member of the low castes, 21 dishes of water with flowers must be introduced to purify it, the idol must be washed again with the four waters, a feast lasting for three days must be given to the Namboories, and the temple swept thrice a day and smeared with cow dung.