The craziest thing I have EVER seen...

Thaipusam. Wow. It took place here in Singapore two days ago and I still can't get over how bizarre (for me anyway) the entire thing was. It was a cultural experience unlike anything I have ever witnessed and certainly educational to say the least. Aside from our friends in Singapore, most of whom also attended the Thaipusam festival, I'm certain that most of you will be surprised by the pictures below...but trust me, seeing it in real life doesn't even seem real! So first, a little background on Thaipusam. Maybe some of you are familiar with it, but for those of you who aren't, please let me be the one to educate you :) I know its long, but I recommend you read all of this before checking out the pictures...if you are just going to skim the info, be sure to read the part in bold!

FYI, I'm copying most of this from Wikipedia, plus adding in parts that I learned from the other day: Thaipusam is  Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (the god of war), the youngest son of god Shiva and his wife Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

 Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan. It is performed during the festival and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the god Murugan.

Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting. Kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy and takes only pure, Satvik food, once a day.

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common.

The simplest kavadi is a semi circular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a small spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or being hung from a decorated bullock cart or more recently a tractor, with the point of incisions of the hooks varying the level of pain. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit.

Oddly enough, Thaipusam is banned in India (just like the fire walking I wrote about a few months ago), but is allowed here. The walk they do is about 4 miles, from Sri Srinavasa Perumal Temple to Sri Thandayuthapani Temple. So here we go with the photos...

Prior to making the walk, the devotees made offerings here.

A devotee waits to make his journey while his family members fasten his kavadi (burden) to him by piercing his skin.

Another devotee waits while his family works on his kavadi. Though not visible in this picture, the devotee has spears through his cheeks and tongue making it impossible for him to speak.

One of the devotees in the middle of his journey. Each of those long spikes are pierced through his skin and the mouth piece is fastened with a spear through his cheeks.

From the back...

A female devotee carrying a jug of milk.

Some of them PULL alters behind them while others pull back making the walk even harder. Seriously...OUCH!!

Now this guy was a site to be seen! He had spears through his tongue and cheeks...

...and tiny jugs of milk pierced all over his body. And did I mention....

that he was walking on shoes of nails?!?!

Needless to say, he was walking very slow.

Now this guy...wow. He had a HUGE spear through his mouth and he was obviously in immense pain. He was just a few steps out of the temple before he started grunting in extreme pain (remember, he couldn't speak due to the spear). His eyes rolled back and his family caught him as he fainted. You could actually see the limes rolling all over his back...I could barely watch. Then they got him back up and tried to pour water in his mouth. He had tears (from pain) in his eyes. Amanda was able to capture the moment on video which you can see below...but I will warn you, its sort of intense.

This is his family trying to get him back up on his feet.

Trying to pour water into a mouth that is impossible to open.

Once they arrive at the final temple and make their offering, their spears and spike kavadis are removed. Here is a guy wrapping his mouth right after his spear was removed from his cheeks and tongue.

Women selling bracelets and bangles right outside the temple.

It was an extremely interesting day. To me, it was sad on so many levels. We even saw a few kids getting pierced and carrying kavadis - they couldn't have been older than 12 years old. Just like the fire-walking experience, the whole time I found myself thanking God that I don't have to participate in anything like that to show my devotion to Him!

There are a few videos below. None are graphic (meaning there is no blood or anything), but the last is a bit intense. Just a warning!

This shows a devotee getting pierced for his journey. In an attempt to distract the devotee from any pain that may occur during the piercing, friends and family gather around to shout loudly in his ear.

Here is a devotee carrying his kavadi while on his journey to the temple. His friends and family walk with him for support. Thanks to Amanda for getting this video!

This final video (also captured by Amanda!) is of the guy that was in a lot of pain pictured above. While there is nothing graphic in this video, there are moments that are pretty intense (a lot of screaming).