Exchange Shiv Mandir and Sewala

The Sewala or the mud temple at the Exchange Village Shiv Mandir is a Grade 1 Listed Property of Interest under the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago Act. The Sewala was built in the late 19th century making it the oldest leepayed religious structure that is still remaining in Trinidad today. The Sewala is a leepayed structure, which means it is made from a mixture of cow dung (gobar), sapaté mud and water, which is reapplied to the walls and floors every 2-3 months, by hand. The reliefs on the walls were created when the Sewala was being built. The original Shiv Lingam remains intact.

The Sewala has a superstructure which has a dome (called Shikhara in north India, and Vimana in south India) that stretches towards the sky. The temple’s vertical dimension cupola (dome) symbolises the cosmic mountain on which Lord Shiva resides. There are four doors in the temple representing the four cardinal points. In keeping with Hindu sacred architecture [vastu], devotees must enter the temple through the eastern door and leave through the western exit. The front door is dedicated to Surya [Sun God].

In 2026 the National Trust and CyArk launched the Exchange Sewala Tapestry with the support of the United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago. This Tapestry is a permanent record of the Exchange Sewala and Shiv Mandir using state-of-the-art technology that combines data from LiDAR devices with both aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry. This combination creates a photo-textured 3D mesh, capturing highly detailed millimetre-resolution details of core areas of the subject.

Address: Exchange Village, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago
Town/City: Exchange Village
Region: Couva – Tabaquite – Talparo
Site Type: Cultural Heritage
Ownership: Private
Public Accessibility: Yes
Grade: Grade 1 – property in which there should be no change, nor alteration to its shape or form, nor in or upon any material object, plant or other thing that may deform or deface the property
Cultural Community: Indo-Trinidadian
Site Features: Places of Worship

 

 

Address:

Exchange Village
Couva
Trinidad and Tobago

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