Thaipusam

Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Every year, the Tamil community in Kuala Lumpur celebrate Thaipusam, a religious festival which is said to originate from the occasion when the goddess Parvati gave Murugan (Kartikeya), her son, and “commander-in-chief” of the Gods, a spear with which to defeat the demon Soorapadman.

The festival is famous for the Kavadi Attam, or “burden dance” which is a ceremonial sacrifice performed by devotees who perform a pilgrimage over several kilometres leading to the temple at Batu Caves whilst enduring various types of physical stress. In its simplest form this could be by carrying an urn containing milk, or by carrying a decorated canopy. More extreme forms of devotion involve skin piercing on the back or by a spear through the cheeks. Some devotees strive to include all the above and even add tethers to the back piercings which are constantly in tension by an attendant following behind. Thousands of worshippers, joined by tourists from all over the world attend the festival and it is a public holiday in several states in Malaysia. It takes place every January or February depending on the appearance of the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai.