Thaipusam 2013 --- a father/daughter outing

[Guest blog post by Ted Bach]

Background

David Green pointed us in the direction of the Thapusam festival held Sunday the 27th of January saying, bring your camera, you'll get some amazing photos.  And boy was he right! It was a feast for the eyes.

Applying wiki-fu, we learned Thapusam is astounding festival of faith and devotion in which devotees affix Kavadis to their flesh and walk a long distance in an act of physical burden and sacrifice to lord Murgan (Tamil god of War) as compensation for the answering prayers for forbearance during the previous year:
 
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam

In Singapore, this is observed by walking several kilometers between two temples, one in Little India and the other near Fort Caning.

A combination of the fact that there would be all sorts of piercings (tongue, body, etc) and that Wyatt converted what we had planned as a family outing to a Daddy & Daughter day.  Eleanor and Zoe already knew about Thaipusam from school.  Eleanor said "Is that the one where they do the piercings and go on a long walk? I want to go see it!"

It ended up being a wonderful day.  And, shockingly, there was no blood in sight---maybe that happens when the piercings come out...but perhaps not even then.  These folks know their bodies pretty well.

The hospitality and openness of the Hindu community was inspiring.  It was a very hot afternoon, so we didn't spend much time on the outdoor course, but instead spent most of our time in the temple grounds where devotees were preparing.

The Thaipusam walking course

Outside, there was a long cordoned off course where devotees walk.  Along the way there were watering points. A very good idea given just how hot the weather was.

 Along the course, there were signs like the one below.  Singapore has managing religious festivals like this one down to a science.

 We walked up to the Perumal temple and saw the following scene---people emerging from the temple and beginning their devotional walk.

Men carry items such as the 'charriot' this man is holding and the women and piercing-adverse men carry jugs of milk.

These ladies are carrying milk.

Devotee preparation area: Inside the Perumal Temple

 After watching for awhile, we debated whether we should go inside the Temple area to seek shelter from the shade.

We ended up deciding it would be to go in, Temple of Doom fears not-withstanding.  We slipped our shoes into a recognizable area of the giant shoe pile and went inside.

 Once inside, we meandered a bit and began watching one man preparing to put on his chariot.

Elleanor and Zoe were totally enthralled.  And, to their credit, they were not too worried to see.

 Here is "our guy" making an offering to Lord Murgan with a burning lamp and coconut milk.
 

Here he is getting his chariot mounted on with the help of his friends. There was a lot of fitting and preparation before they started attaching the hooks-on-chains.  He danced up and down and around---better to work out the kinks before the hooks go in!  Zoe and Eleanor commented how beautiful the chariots were.

Now, time for the hooks. The hooks resemble fishing hooks, but without the barb so presumably they could come out easier.

We could see that this was going to take awhile, so we went for a stroll.

We saw another man with a 'spear' style chariot.  Most of the weight is supported by a girder belt (not the hooks, but still, one must walk carefully.

Did I mention the hospitality of these folks in the temple?  Not only did people 100% accept our presence, but they offered some delicious lime juice, which Zoe is enjoying here.  In our part, we did our best to be respectable and not act too much like tourists.  (I actually kept my photography down to a minimum---something about every westerner in the place having a big DSLR camera made me not want to flash mine around too much. Still, I don't think anyone cared.)

 The little-lime style of Kavadi looks so cool, but wonder whether it is more painful?


Tabla drum and horn playing filled the air.  These guys were one of a few groups playing concurrently. Eleanor commented that she has played the Tabla at school.

The main-hall of the temple.  Devotees, entourages and onlookers everywhere.  Sandalwood incense filled the air.

 These girls were participating in some way. They were very cute.  That's sandalwood dust on their heads.

 Outside

Time to find our shoes...

 Where the heck are they?  Oh, there they are...

 E&Z had a great time!

 We watched a few devotees like this guy.  He's carrying milk jugs and has his tongue decorated.

Somewhere familiar for lunch

After such an experience, it was nice to go over to a place we knew well for lunch. Here are the kids posing with Ronald MacDonald after lunch.

That said, even Mac Donalds has its own regional differences.  Note the 'prosperity fries' and orange related treats that they roll out for the Chinese Lunar New Year.