THAIPUSAM - MALAYSIA

Late at night and just 14 kilometers from the cosmopolitan malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, are the Batu Caves. Every year the festival known as Thaipusam is celebrated. It is the most important Hindu festival of the year and always falls between the end of January and the beginning of February. Its origin takes us to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from where many Indians were brought to Malaysia during the british colonial era with the aim of working on rubber plantations. His revered god is called Murugan, he is the God of War and son of Shiva. As in many hindu celebrations, pilgrims shave their heads as a sign of submission, perform ablutions, fast for days and make offerings as penance. In this case, men and women carefully carry milk pitchers on their heads that will be offered as a sign of veneration after overcoming the final 272 steps that take us to the entrance of the Murugan Temple. But the characteristic of Thaipusam par excellence is the offering and penance towards their god in the form of physical pain. Their faces are pierced by needles of different diameters, hooks topped with flowers and fruits such as lemons or oranges hang on their backs. Small containers called “kinnam” filled with milk can also be seen suspended from the skin and will be delivered at the end of their path. The most radical devotees, in addition to self-inflicting these bodily sacrifices, carry the so-called "kavadi" attached to their body, which consists of a metal frame adorned with peacock feathers, velvet umbrellas or flowers, depending on the designer. His weight is 70 kilograms and falls mainly on the waist. To balance it, it is nailed to perforated rings directly on its chest, back and arms. All this without shedding a drop of blood. The state of trance is so brutal and deep that they are even capable of dancing with their kavadis to the rhythm of the percussion, the songs and the smell of incense that do not stop during the entire ritual. Their disjointed faces, with wild eyes and drooling from the mouth are the visual symptoms of such an effort beyond the human. It all ends when all the dangling beads are removed and her skin is bathed in rice flour for relief. Then they go to their guru, talk for a few moments and take a soodam pill. Suddenly they fall to the ground struck down and in shock. Exhausted from the entire trance cycle, they need to be assisted by their relatives for 10 or 15 minutes at rest.