Thaipusam is overwhelming for the senses, a riot of sounds and an explosion of color. It is also the most important day of the year for the people who are devoted to Lord Murugan, the Hindu god. And although it is celebrated across Sri Lanka, South India and Singapore, but this celebrations is distinctive at the Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where the festival has been celebrated near the start of each year since 1892.
The amazing backdrop helps the festival, for years more than 1.5 million people visit over several weeks, and at any time thousands of people can be found following the drummers of the festival down the street before they circle around the highway overpass. They then march through the front gates of the Batu Caves and up 272 rainbow-painted stairs, past a massive statue of Lord Murugan, to a temple in a cave of limestones.
For many Tamils, and others who have found their way to this branch of Hinduism, Thaipusam follow 48 days of fasting and devotion to Lord Murugan. A lot of devotees will carry a ceremonial burden that can take many forms called a kavadi.
This frame is filled with flower garlands and peacock feathers, with hooks or spikes piercing the body and the face of the wearer. It looks painful and chilling to look at, but for the devotees, it is a central part of the Tamil festival celebration.
While Christianity, Judaism and Islam claim a single god, a single foundational text and a single founder, Hinduism is very different. There is no founder, and although there are a lot of important texts, there is not one that lays everything out like the Koran or the Bible. There are a lot of gods, and many manifestations of the same god, depending on the devotee that you ask. And there are a lot of ways to practice the faith.
In facts, most Hindus do not follow Lord Murugan or celebrate Thaipusam. It is a regional celebration that followed the Tamil diaspora to Malaysia. Within Thaipusam, worship takes a lot of forms. Devotees say that there is no one right answer as it is up to the devotees on how they want to present their vows.
Some devotees carry milk pots as their ceremonial burden. Other devotees shave their head while some offer prayers. A few of them even crawl the entire circuit on their knees. Other devotees giving thanks for a new child, carry their infant up to the temple by using a sling attached to sugar cane. A lot of the devotees fall into a trance, which can involve laughing, crying, smiling, shrieking or grunting.
A lot of devotees pierce themselves. Some use spikes while others use hooks. Some even hook limes or small metal pots to their back. And many carry hooks and spikes that are suspended from intersecting semi-circular frames called a kavadi.
