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In a red sari and adorned with garlands, temple goddess Sri Kamadchi Ampal looks east to the rising sun.
Crouching on the floor, women in colorful saris, their children, men - and sunil, pray.
He is 27 years old, Hindu, Tamil with a German passport and works in the IT industry.
He goes to the temple twice a week.
He folds his hands in front of his face, fingertips up, and shows Kamadchi Ampal and other gods respect, thanks and devotion.
We don't know what he wants.
But all Hindus know that the temple goddess Sri Kamadchi Ampal can read wishes from the eyes.
Mining until 2010, steel, chemistry: Hamm is not an exciting city.
But in Hamm you can experience an authentic piece of India.
The largest Hindu temple in continental Europe is located in the industrial area of Hamm-Uentrop: base area 27 by 27 meters, with a 17 meter high gopuram, the entrance tower.
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How did he get to Hamm?
“It was God's will,” says Hindu priest Arumugam Paskaran.
While fleeing the civil war in Sri Lanka, an odyssey took him via Moscow and Berlin to Paris.
“During the train ride I was suddenly very hungry and I just got out,” says the man with the long white beard.
“That's how I came to Hamm.
And I stayed. "
A temple in India served as a model for the architect
In the same year, 1989, Paskaran built a shrine in his apartment.
A small temple followed three years later, the current large one in 2002.
The architect was the German Heinz-Rainer Eichhorst from Hamm, who had no previous experience in building Hindu temples.
But during a stay of several weeks in South India, Eichhorst was informed about the religious regulations for temple building.
The Kanchi Kamadchi Temple in Kanchipuram in southern India was the template.
The city of Hamm made the property available, and Paskaran collected the construction costs of a good 1.5 million euros through donations and loans.
Based on the Indian model: The German architect Heinz-Rainer Eichhorst first had to learn how to build a Hindu temple
Source: pA / blickwinkel / S. Ziese
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20,000 Hindus from all over Europe celebrated the inauguration of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple for 13 hours. respect, think highly of.
After all, 45,000 Hindus live in Germany, “all of them well integrated”, believes Paskaran: “Many now have German citizenship, almost all of them are employed, in all classes, from workers to academics.
The second generation is now growing up. "
The canal in Hamm is a replacement for the Ganges
For many western viewers, Hinduism with its sculptures, mythologies and countless Hindu deities looks like a mixture of religion, cult and fantasy.
There are 200 deities in the temple of Hamm alone.
In Hinduism there is no uniform founder of religion, no common creed, no central religious institution.
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“The temple is open to all people.
Everyone can discuss their concerns with the gods spiritually, ”says Paskaran.
Only one should be respectfully dressed in the temple, no leather or other clothing originating from animals should be worn, no food or drink should be made, one should keep quiet, walk barefoot or on socks.
The scent of incense is in the air: one of the three daily ceremonies is underway, very graceful despite the deafening drums.
For ablutions, it goes 300 meters further under a dreary, dark bridge on the Datteln-Hamm Canal - with not very inviting water.
The believers use the Datteln-Hamm Canal for ablutions
Source: AFP
“The canal is our replacement for the Ganges.
We believe that rivers and lakes come from God, "says the priest and adds:" I don't mind that our temple is in the middle of an industrial area.
Our ceremonies are often loud, with a lot of music and nobody feels affected in an industrial area. "
The biggest festival of the Hindus in Germany
15,000 people come to the annual two-week temple festival: it is the largest Hindu festival in Germany.
In ecstatic dances and mortifications, some devout men stick skewers, hooks and nails in their mouths, cheeks or back.
Rituals that Paskaran tolerates, but does not encourage or even demand.
“The mortifications are a matter for the believers.
One sacrifices oneself to the goddess and, through mortification, asks for help in solving a problem. "
Priest Arumugam Paskaran (left) at a religious ceremony on the first burial ground for Hindus in Germany
Source: PA / dpa
Blood does not flow because the believers are under the protection of the goddess and are accompanied by a master of ceremonies "who knows the techniques for the stabbing and mentally prepares the believers for their exertion," says the priest.
The animal sacrifices that often take place in the Tamil tradition are not tolerated.
Even so, the temple of Hamm is considered to be the center of Hinduism in exile.
And the goddess Sri Kamadchi Ampal protects her hand over the Hamm, Temple, Canal - and Sunil.
Source: WORLD infographic
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Information:
hamm.de;
hinduistische-gemeinde-deutschland.de
Guided tours are normally possible with the architect, but are currently suspended due to Corona (contact: eichhorst (at) eichhorst-schade.de)
Other parts of the series "Secret Places":