Intro
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated on the first full moon day of the Tamil month of Thai coinciding with Pusam star. The festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Hindu god Murugan over the demon Surapadman using a vel, a divine spear granted by Parvati.
The festival include ritualistic practices of Kavadi Aattam, a ceremonial act of sacrifice carrying a physical burden as a means of balancing a spiritual debt. Worshipers often carry a pot of cow milk as an offering and also do mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers. Devotees prepare for the rituals by keeping clean, doing regular prayers, following a vegetarian diet and fasting while remaining celibate.
Although Thaipusam is main observed in India, it is also one of the biggest event in Malaysia due to the significant Indian community in the country.
History
According to the Kanda Puranam, asuras (a race of celestial beings Surapadman, Tarakasuran and Singamukhan performed austerities to propitiate lord Shiva. Shiva granted them various boos which gave them the ability to conquer the three worlds and near immortality.
They subsequently oppressed other celestial beings including the devas and started a reign of tyranny in their respective realms. When the devas pleaded Shiva for his assistance, he manifested five additional heads and a divine spark emerged from each of them. Initially, wing god Vayu carried the sparks with fire god Agni taking over later because of the unbearable heat and Agni deposited the sparks in the Ganga river. The water in Ganga started evaporating due to intense heat and Ganga took them to Saravana lake where the sparks developed into a baby boy. The six boys were raised by handmaidens known as the Kriththikas and they were later fused into one by Parvati, thus the six-headed Murugan was born.
Parvati granted him a divine spear known as the vel. Murugan was accompanied by Virabahu who served as his commander-in-chief and eight others, who were sons bore by nine shaktis who arose from the gems of the broken anklet of Parvati, when she ran from her seat due to the heat generated by the sparks. Along with the forces of the devas, Murugan waged a war on the asuras. Murugan split Surapadman into two with his vel and the two halves transformed into a mango tree and later into a peacock and a rooster. Murugan adopted the peacock as his mount and took the rooster as his flag. Murugan is a deity associated with yogic discipline and austerities in Hinduism and is regarded by his adherents to be capable of offering mukti (spiritual liberation) to those who venerate him.
Practices
Kavadi Aattam is a ceremonial act of sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees. It is a central part of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. Kavadi (meaning “burden” in Tamil) itself is a physical burden carried by the devotee, the bearing of which is used by the devotee to implore Murugan for assistance, usually on behalf of a loved one who is in need of healing, or as a means of balancing a spiritual debt.
Worshipers may carry a pot of cow milk as an offering and also do a form of mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers. Drumming and chanting of verses help them enter a state of trance and Vibuthi, a type of holy ash is spread across the body including the piercing sites.
Devotees prepare for the rituals by keeping clean, doing regular prayers, following a vegetarian diet and fasting while remaining celibate. They make pilgrimage with bare feet and dance along the route while bearing these burdens.
Celebration in Malaysia
In Malaysia, Thaipusam attracts thousands of people for the elaborate festivities at Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur and Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang.
In the capital city of Malaysia, devotees take part in the procession by accompanying a chariot bearing Lord Murugan’s statue, on the journey from the Sri Mariamman temple in Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves in Selangor. The journey which begins at midnight covers a distance of approximately 15km and stops at Batu Caves in the morning.
At Batu Caves, a gold Lord Murugan statue towers over the temple and awaits devotees looking to pray for various aspects of their lives and fulfill their vows to the deity during the celebration. In addition to the procession, devotees climb up all 272 of the famed concrete steps to the main temple cave, bearing their offerings and kavadi.
It is said that well over a million people visit the Batu Caves during Thaipusam, so be prepared for a very crowded, hectic and sometimes even claustrophobic experience.
It is a unique celebration in Malaysia as it is not only observed by Indians. Other communities may also join in the prayers to Lord Murugan, and for those who are not a Hindu celebrates the diversity and differences among Malaysians.
