PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, July 1, 2005: An annual prayer ceremony to invoke the blessings of a South Indian deity, Shri Ayyenaar Swami Thiruvizha, held in an Indian township in South Africa, attracted more than 3,000 people this year. “Lord Ayyenaar is the God who protects and brings righteousness and justice into the lives of devotees,” said Thayalin Pillay, public relations officer of the Laudium Tamil Association. As part of the prayer ceremony, an elaborate chariot with the icon of Lord Ayyenaar was carried three times around the temple located in Laudium, the Indian township west of here. Devotees broke coconuts and lit camphor in the four corners of the temple. “The significance of lighting the camphor is that it symbolizes that any problems that the devotee may have are being burnt away,” said Pillay. The Laudium Tamil Association hosts the function held in June each year and the faithful flock to the temple from as far off as Durban and Cape Town. Pillay said: “It is a prayer that is only done here, and it was started in Laudium about 30 years ago after it moved to the Laudium Temple from private homes. People come to seek divine intervention for health and protection.”
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