Omkar Temple
Harare, Zimbabwe
- Deities
- Om (general Hindu community worship; a specific presiding deity is not detailed in available sources)
- Traditions
- other
- Worship status
- active
- Darshan hours
- Not documented in available sources; consult the local Hindu community/temple management for current timings before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Not documented in available sources; major pan-Hindu festivals (e.g. Diwali, Maha Shivaratri) are likely observed given the temple's role as a general community place of worship, but this is not independently confirmed.
- How to reach
- In Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, where the country's small Hindu community is concentrated.
Location
Search for "Omkar Temple" on Google MapsThis temple's exact coordinates aren't confirmed yet, so the link above searches by name and city rather than pointing to a verified spot.
Described on Wikipedia’s overview of Hinduism in Zimbabwe as the country’s first Hindu temple, the Omkar Temple in Harare had its foundation stone laid in 1929, serving a Hindu community descended from indentured and migrant laborers brought from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu under British colonial administration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That community has since shrunk considerably, numbering only around 3,000 people (roughly 500 families) in recent estimates, concentrated mainly in Harare. Beyond the founding date and its status as the country’s first Hindu temple, available sources do not detail the temple’s founders, presiding deity, or architecture; a second Hindu place of worship, an ISKCON centre, operates separately at Marondera.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's 'Hinduism in Zimbabwe' article: confirms the Omkar Temple in Harare is described there as the first Hindu temple in Zimbabwe, with its foundation stone laid in 1929, and that Zimbabwe's Hindu community (originating with indentured and migrant laborers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu brought by British colonial administrators in the late 19th/early 20th century) had shrunk to roughly 3,000 people (about 500 families) by the time of that article. The same article notes ISKCON maintains a separate centre at Marondera, described as Zimbabwe's second Hindu place of worship.
For review
- Available sources give only the foundation-stone date (1929) and the 'first Hindu temple in Zimbabwe' description; the founder(s)/builders, presiding deity or deities, and architectural details could not be confirmed this pass and are not stated on Wikipedia's 'Hinduism in Zimbabwe' article, the only source located.