The bargaining of a sacred place: relocation of a Hindu temple in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Drawing on Asef Bayat’s ‘art of presence,’ this paper analyses how Malaysian Indian Hindus reinvent the Tirtha – a sacred location identified for building a Hindu temple – and make it liminal. I contend that the reinvention is a quiet encroachment strategy for Indian Hindus to safeguard community temples against urban development. I base my argument on empirical data gathered from in-depth interviews and ethnographic approaches. I anchor my argument on a case study concerning a demolished and relocated Hindu temple in Penang. I additionally demonstrate how the liminality of a Hindu temple is rationalised and made plausible with rituals for relocation, namely the Balathanam ceremony.