MALAYSIA: Thousands flock to a Hindu temple in Taiping to touch and rub money on boars

Record ID: 764328

  • Title: MALAYSIA: Thousands flock to a Hindu temple in Taiping to touch and rub money on boars
  • Date: 16th June 2009
  • Summary: DEVOTEES PRAYING
  • Embargoed: 1st July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA5Y8QTK04YZSOWFTHYQI225RK5
  • Story Text: Thousands flock to a Hindu temple in Malaysia to touch and rub money on the boars that live there with hopes that they will be blessed with a stroke of good luck.
    Everyday, thousands of people converge at this Hindu temple in Taiping, Malaysia.
    But it's not just to pray to the deity.
    The crowds want to touch or rub money on the wild boars that live there because they are said to be auspicious for lottery ticket buyers and gamblers.
    At the gates of the Sri Jada Muneesvaar Alayam temple where the familiar temple smells of burning incense mix with the odour of animal dung, the curious and punters alike buy small parcels of nasi lemak, a traditional Malay rice dish, bags of sweet potato and corn on the cob.
    A bell sounds to announce the commencement of prayers and signals the arrival of the wild boars. Onlookers flood to the edges of a make-shift pen and when the first swine trot out of the bordering jungle, they call out and throw food to the boars to entice them closer so they touch the bristly hairs.
    It's Ragu Subrabamani's first time to visit the boars.
    "People talk about striking it rich in the lottery so I came here to see for myself whether it's true or not, that's the main reason why I came," he said.
    But Si Poh Lai, who lives 200 kilometres away from the temple is sure of the magic powers of the boars after he touched one and won 600 ringgit (174 USD) in the lottery.
    "If people want good luck, they should buy a joss stick, make wishes and pray to the Indian god inside, then come out to touch the boar," he said.
    Word of mouth and media coverage have made the boars and their "powers" famous. Some even come with hopes of curing cancer or bearing children.
    Michelle Pattiselanno made the journey from Singapore after hearing about the boars from a friend.
    "I have written some numbers in my palm, I have some money down here which I hope to rub, that's what they told me, he says maybe by rubbing some money and things like that, not to wash my hands, it may bring luck", she said.
    Temple priests say the swell in visitors to the temple was predicted by a Thai monk last April when he saw a vision of one of the Hindu Deities, Petchiannam, sitting on a wild boar.
    Since then as many as 80 boars have emerged from the jungle to feed at the temple. Both locals and tourists have been swarming in to try their luck.
    Tourists are welcome because they bring life to the temple and business to Taiping, temple priests said. However the large crowds are difficult to control and parking and noise has become a problem for nearby residents.
    Temple priests say the popularity of the boars has attracted poachers and that has displeased the deities. One of these poachers is reported to have died shortly after shooting one of the temple's boars.
    Mistreatment of the boars has not only incurred the wrath of the gods but also the Perak Wildlife Department who have requested the temple to stop visitors feeding and touching the wild boars due to their growing domesticity.
    Temple volunteer Shan is concerned.
    "Some people come and try to get the hair because you know they have this weird type of hair on them right, they try to pull so but we have put a stop to all that now because we don't want them to be hurt, you know they are just wild boars, you know", he said.
    And it's not just the lottery winners that are growing rich.
    Funds raised from the increasing number of visitors are going to be used to expand the temple site and build new shrines for the gods.
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