Carapichaima is a town in central

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Communities and villages in Carapichaima include Orangefield, Waterloo, Brickfield, and Korea Village.

Name

The name Carapichaima is said to be derived from the native

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

inhabitants who no longer exist in this area.

History

Carapichaima had been a sugar producing village that expanded after the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

opened up central Trinidad to development and population movements. Better access to transportation allowed the village to expand into a hub for transportation in central Trinidad and center for commerce for the surrounding areas and rural communities. Carapichaima has seen major changes and growth due to a number of factors. These include the construction of new schools in the area, the establishment and expansion of business into the area and the increase in

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

into the area. Major structural changes occurred in the past few years when the main sugar producing, state owned company, Caroni 1975 Ltd., was closed in 2003. A significant part of the rural population were employed in the sugar industry. Among some of the major problems plaguing this community is increasing crime rates and difficulty coping with the previously mentioned structural changes.

Religion

The town is very culturally diverse hosting a very large East Indian population as well as a significant African population. The predominantly East Indian population explains the dominance of religions like

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and Islam in the area. This dominance is evident by the amount of Temples and

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s located in the area. The Dattatreya Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to

Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ganapathi Sachchidananda is a Hindu avadhuta. Shuka Vana aviary Sri Swamiji established Shuka Vana, an aviary and a rehabilitation center for birds. Located on premises of Ashrama in Mysore. The aviary has over 2,100 rare birds of more than ...

. Situated on the temple ground is the tallest (85 feet)

Lord Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine ''vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one ...

statue in the Western Hemisphere completed in 2001. The statue was designed and constructed by T. Subramanian Sthapathi (Chief Architect) from

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

.Potomitan.info
Trinidad's Giant Hanuman
/ref> Also of significance is the temple in Waterloo, which extends into the sea. Several Mosques dot the area and a Muslim school is centrally located close to the former train station. A number of churches also exist to serve the growing Christian population in Carapichaima. Carapichaima has been a major staging point for Carnival celebrations in Central Trinidad.

Schools

A number of schools have sprouted in the area to accommodate its rising population. One of the first was the Canadian Missionary school, the Waterloo Presbyterian School. This was originally built to educate the rural East Indians who lived and formed the workforce of the sugar plantations that encompassed the region at that time. Eventually a number of schools were established like the Waterloo Hindu School, Orange Field Hindu School, Carapichaima RC School and the Carapichaima ASJA Muslim Primary School to name a few.

References

External links

To see the temple and photos of the Hanuman Murti
{{coord, 10, 28, N, 61, 27, W, display=title, region:TT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago