Tucked away in the quiet community of Exchange Village in Couva stands a remarkable piece of Trinidad and Tobago’s history.
Constructed around 1920, the Exchange Sewala, also known as the Exchange Shiv Mandir or simply the “Mud Temple,” was built by descendants of East Indian indentured labourers who settled near the former sugar estates after completing their indentureship.
At that time, members of the community used natural materials, including mud, clay, lime, and cow dung, to create a sacred place of worship that has withstood the test of time and remains one of the country’s most unique cultural treasures.
President of the Exchange Shiv Mandir, Savita Garib, said the temple stands as one of the few surviving examples of traditional “leepayed” architecture in Trinidad and Tobago.
“What I’m doing here today is called leepaying. It consists of cow dung, which is also gobar. The Indian word for it is ‘gobar’, which is cow dung mixed with dirt. What we are doing here is actually painting it onto the dirt wall to have it structurally firm. This is what we do actually every two to three months, depends on how well the wall is working. Sometimes the sun, because of the weather and everything, the wall will get really cracked as you can see here, so that is why we do constant leepaying every two to three months.”
The temple’s distinctive design reflects deep spiritual symbolism. Its dome-shaped shikhara represents the cosmic mountain associated with Lord Shiva, while its four doors face the cardinal directions, welcoming devotees from all sides.
Karishma Nanhu, Heritage Preservation and Research Officer at the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago, stated, “As we move through the Sewala, we always walk in a clockwise direction to keep the Garbhagriha, or Inner Sanctum, on the right. The Shiv Lingam is always to your right.”
Chairman of the National Museum and Art Gallery, Richard Rampersad, noted that inside the sewala are hand-crafted relief sculptures and sacred imagery.
“Take for example this scene that is in front of us. Based on what we can see at this point, we can definitely see a figure in profile, and when I use the word ‘profile’, I’m really talking about on its side. The figure is in profile holding the arrow, then we see to the top right a figure that looks like Lord Hanuman holding the mountain. And in our scriptures, you would know that there’s the Sanjeevani herb as used for healing, and Lord Hanuman couldn’t find the herb in the mountain, so he thought, ‘Here’s what: let me go with the entire mountain.'”
Despite being more than 100 years old, much of the temple’s original structure remains intact.
However, Ms. Nanhu noted that in 1985, an aluminium roof was added to help protect the building from the elements.
“These doors are historically significant. These were repurposed from the barracks of the Exchange Estate where the indentured Indians lived. It is also significant to note that the Sewala is much smaller in size than the modern Mandirs that you see today and this is because back when the Sewala was built in the 1800s, the type of worship would have been personal worship with the pundit and the devotee.”
In recognition of its historical and cultural significance, the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago declared the Sewala a protected Property of Interest in 2019.
Nesyamn Ranut, Senior Heritage Preservation and Research Officer at the National Trust of T&T, explained more: “It is a Grade One Property of Interest, meaning that there are certain things that you can and cannot do. Grade One usually indicates that you have to be very strict in terms of what is done, and I think that the community has done an excellent job in maintaining the aspects that we do see here today.”
As Trinidad and Tobago continues to celebrate its rich multicultural identity, the Exchange Village Mud Mandir stands as a living monument – a testament to resilience, faith, and the enduring legacy of those who transformed hardship into heritage.