Saturday, January 30, 2010

Thaipusam Festival

So if you have a weak stomach or heart you might want to skim over this blog entry. Jason and I heard about a Hindu festival that was taking place in Singapore this weekend so we decided to go and check it out. I knew that it was a festival with spikes and spears but I'm pretty sure I had no idea that it was going to be how it was! (See my face in photo 18)

The festival is called Thaipusam, which is one of the most dramatic Hindu festivals, in which followers honor Lord Subramaniam, who is the god of wishes, by walking 4km (2.5 miles) from one Hindu temple to the next with their offerings or Kavadi's on their back. The Kavadi's are attached to them with hooks and skewers and are driven into their flesh by relatives and close friends. Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to Lord Subramaniam for the purpose of having or triumphing over a great life wish. (I'm pretty sure any wish I had would not be followed up by driving stakes into me, but to each his own I guess and it really shows their level of devotion to their religion).

Every statement out of Jason's mouth that morning was, "Isn't it crazy that..." and that has been sort of the motto of the week actually. Everything we have seen has been a totally new and crazy experience, even for me who Jason says has "been everywhere." But it is amazing how different it is over here and yet there is so much that is the same.

Jason is off to work tomorrow and so I will not have my photo partner to pal around with while he is at the office, back to corporate life *sigh*...these are a mixture of his and my photos:










They did this whole journey barefoot too!



Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouuuuchhhh!!



It was for all ages to observe and celebrate

The lime symbolises protection by the deities













Me with a bit of a concerned look and just taking it all in...

This was the line we escaped somehow when we ended up in the actual procession...not sure how it happened?





4 comments:

  1. WOW... Awesome pictures... I can honestly say I don't wish for anything THAT bad...

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  2. Maybe we're just fortunate enough that we don't have to wish that hard for anything. Or perhaps, we just haven't found that which is a life long wish.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Well I have found that which is MY life long wish and she is sitting right here next to me. Perhaps I need to be a more active participant in this next year - Jason

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