Malaysian Indians celebrate Thaipusam<\/p>\n
By Barani Krishnaan<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Every year Nagappa Sundar orders hundreds
\nof flesh-piercing hooks to be sharpened and then pokes them into
\nat least a dozen men. Sometimes, he drives skewers up to a foot
\nlong (30 centimeters) through their tongue and cheeks.<\/p>\n
Nagappa is no sadist although he delights in what he does. The
\npriest's targets also submit to him willingly and with joy.<\/p>\n
\"This year, I am having 48 hooks pierced into my body,\" said
\nSukumar Krishnan, an electronics engineer with the Malaysian
\nbranch of US-based photocopier company Xerox.<\/p>\n
\"There's also going to be a spear-shaped skewer going through
\nmy cheeks,\" said Sukumar, with a grin.<\/p>\n
He and Nagappa are part of some 1.4 million ethnic Indians in
\nMalaysia who celebrate Thaipusam, a Hindu festival where
\nthousands of people pierce themselves with hooks and skewers once
\na year as a penance for the Lord Muruga.<\/p>\n
The Hindu devotees also shoulder heavy and elaborately-
\ndesigned structures called kavadis and walk barefooted for long
\ndistances, often up a hill, during the one-day festival which is
\nalso celebrated widely in India and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Hindu scriptures say that Muruga, the youngest son of the
\nparamount Lord Shiva, was created to eliminate a demonic clan and
\nresided on a mountain for part of his life -- thus the festival's
\nemphasis on hills.<\/p>\n
This year Thaipusam is celebrated last Tuesday, with
\ncelebrations held in at least four places in Malaysia, the most
\npopular being the limestone Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur which
\nhouse a hilltop Muruga shrine accessible by 272 steps.<\/p>\n
Nagappa and his followers can be seen at the Batu Caves every
\nThaipusam, dressed from the waist down in traditional clothing
\nand carrying huge multi-colored steel and aluminum kavadis
\nadorned with statues of Muruga and peacock feathers.<\/p>\n
The men sway to the beat of drums while gold-colored chains
\nwith hooks shimmer on their bare upper bodies.<\/p>\n
The women usually carry pitchers of milk on their heads while
\nchildren shoulder small arch-shaped structures and sometimes have
\nskewers dangling from their tongues.<\/p>\n
\"The skewers and hooks are part of the penance. They don't
\ncause any pain to the devotees because all the pain is taken away
\nby Lord Muruga,\" said Nagappa, who has been piercing Thaipusam
\ndevotees for 26 years.<\/p>\n
The 44-year-old Hindu priest understands the disbelieving
\nlooks he gets when he says the ritual is painless. Those who
\nwitness the act are usually astonished to find that the devotees
\ndo not bleed.<\/p>\n
\"It's our faith and love in Lord Muruga that enables us to do
\nthis. There is no medical or scientific explanation,\" Nagappa
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said devotees meditate deeply and lapse into a trance
\nbefore they are pierced.<\/p>\n
\"It is at this trance stage that the Lord enters their body
\nand leads them through without trauma,\" said Nagappa.<\/p>\n
The spiritual road to Thaipusam is a long and arduous one for
\nkavadi bearers.<\/p>\n
They usually fast for up to 48 days, living on a single
\nvegetarian meal daily, and do not smoke or consume alcohol. They
\nalso sleep on a bare floor and abstain from sex and other sensual
\ngratification during the fast.<\/p>\n
\"In short, the kavadi bearer will have to be pure in body and
\nspirit,\" said Nagappa, adding that if a devotee bleeds, it often
\nmeans he has done \"something wrong.\"<\/p>\n
Devotees undergoing the ritual usually seek spiritual
\nsalvation or improvements in material life from Muruga. Some also
\ncome for benevolent reasons, hoping to help others with their
\nactions.<\/p>",
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