A couple of months ago, Lio and I had the chance to experience the Indian Hindu festival of Thaipusam at the Batu Caves. Malaysia happens to have one of the largest places outside of India that Hindus make pilgrimage to during the 3 day festival. Just a little background... the Batu Caves is a limestone outcrop with a series of caves, where the largest is a Hindu temple to Lord Muruga. It is located about 30 minutes outside of Kuala Lumpur.
To be honest, I was just so happy to have Lio home and to be able to share these memories with him... Many of the things that I do here, I do by myself or with my friends since Lio is off travelling for work most of the time.
Man climbing the stairs with milk pot and a piercing through both cheeks.
View of Batu Caves
During Thaipusam the pilgrims perform rituals for penance and thanksgiving to Lord Muruga. The rituals take place up to a week before and during the event. Over the course of the event around 1 million people come to take part and/or witness the rituals.
The people taking part in the rituals start at the river (Sungei Batu) to pray and wash themselves. They then make the procession to the Batu Caves where then they will climb the 272 steps leading to the temple for Lord Muruga.
Down by the river... (insert Chris Farley voice here!)
The penance for children is usually to shave their heads and put white powder which, from my research, can be either burnt cow dung or made from dried turmeric and lime. The children then will usually carry a ‘Pal Kudem’ or a milk pot up the steps to the shrine.
I wish I would have worn an orange or yellow sari!! All the women looked so beaultiful with their ornate gold jewerly and flowers in their hair! (They make saris here in KL -- I've vowed to get at least one made before we leave!)
The penance for men includes also shaving their heads and beards but they can either carry a milk pot or they can also carry a 'kavadis' which is an ornate frame supported by metal spikes and hooks inserted into their bodies.
YES -- Piercings... crazy!
The hooks and spikes are inserted while the person is in a semi-trance state and there is no blood let from the piercing... the men will also usually fast the week before performing the penance. They will then make the procession with a group of people drumming and chanting -- I'm sure to cheer him on! (See video at the bottom! -- Thanks Mom and Dad for the Flip!)
I forgot to mention this before... while the pilgrims are doing the procession, most of the ones carrying the kavadis are still in a trance! It's actually kind of unnerving -- they weave around taking shaky steps and make their helpers (they all have helpers that give them water, etc.) catch them and put them back on the right path towards the temple. While some others dance around and let their eyes roll back into their heads while sticking out their tongue that is stained blood red.
But after seeing it a couple of times it wasn't so weird and everyone else seemed fine with it... so I'm sure it was just me being a Westerner! :-) Also, you could hear the sound of bells with every step they took... some had them attached to their ankles and some were all over their backs in the form of piercings. So you knew when they were coming! :-)
The flower wreath I am wearing is also a kavadis that many wear to give as an offering at the temple -- you can see many of the people wearing them in other pictures.
The colors were so rich and vibrant, I couldn't help myself and bought one to decorate the house for the next week. It was a wonderful reminder of what a unique experience it really was!
**The procession is actually quite interesting because in order to get from the river to the caves, they have to walk up a cloverleaf on a raised highway. Gotta love Malaysia blocking their original route by putting a highway there. (see video above taken on the overpass)**
Click on any of the pictures to see more on our Picasa web album.
Batu Caves - Gombak district, Selangor, Malaysia (13km north of KL)
