Humans can be pretty amazing at times, doing magical and strange feats with their believes. This year I got to see the other side of some humans during Thaipusam here in Batu Caves, Malaysia. It’s a Hindu festival of the Tamil community mainly in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia & Singapore. Happening every year in the month of February during the full moon, that was on the 3rd Feb.
It took me a while to get the sense of how did this community end up with this way of portraying their legions to the ‘gods’ by sacrificing their hair, fasting, putting sharp hooks in their bodies and going into a trance stage, where a demi god enters their mind and body to lead them to walk miles in the goddess temples.
It was a learning experience for me all over again, I felt connected to every moment when I finally understood this awareness of the others here, being in this state of mind. Being presence with them there and capturing this celebration. Thaipusam had thought me something new about just being with a path. A form of practice that creates an awakening.
A Tamil devotee finally going into trance with loud drums playing and the ‘priest’ whispering some words over and over again. He finally goes into this different outlook of having another being guiding all his gestures.
Something changed about him here. His energy felt proud and commanding. Everyone around him acted normal unlike the tourist who were amazed by his transformation.
Raising his cane up high and proudly showing off his strength to his followers. Soon after slamming his cane down to the ground as though, he has arrived.
He had to be controlled by the other fellow devotees there, one holding on to the ropes of hooks and the other showing his the way to the temple grounds. He had this strength and spirit in him, into a trance state, with his presence of the demi-god was very powerful. Pulling away to find his way to the mother temple.
A mother whispering some of her wishes or request to this ‘demi-god’, he then nods in approval and blesses her with some white powder over her forehead.
Sacrificing his hair to get his yearly wishes to come through. Even some of the women were doing it, while enjoying this scene, I was wondering where would all this shaved hair go?
A devotee standing up on the shoulders of another while playing loud religious beats. The kavadi march went on like this for hours. Thousands of humans all gathered together, following the sounds and rhythms of Thaipusam.
Batu Caves Malaysia looks different today with over 1.5 million visitors for the next three days. Not forgetting the birds and monkeys roaming free.
The Kavadis then head into the caves after climbing up 270 steps, heading further inside to end their journeys here among the others. Some were seen passing out or just resting like they just finished a marathon. It was the same for all those coming out of the trance stages. Becoming themselves again, the ‘demi gods’ leaving their bodies.
A view when we were coming down from the temple caves. We didn’t have to think where to walk, as the crowd kept us moving with pushes and shoves. Just following the flow of the crowd, as part of a growing energy, we found each other even with thousands of others around us.
