Hinduism is the social and religious system of Hindus.
Thaipusam is a festival which is a day of atonement for Hindus, an offering of thanks or fulfilling of vows for prayers answered.
In Singapore, the highlight of the festival is the procession from the Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road to the Chettiar Temple on Tank Road where devotees pierce their bodies, foreheads, cheeks, and tongues with sharp skewers and weighted hooks. In Malaysia, the central area for the festival is the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur.
It is only the males who participate in the actual parade. A devotee will spend days prior to the day involved in prayer, and making offerings of fruits, vegetables, and incense to his particular demi-god.
While walking along the streets with their burden of skewers on their own personal "float" known as a kivadis, the devotee appears to be in a trance, and claims to be feeling no pain. Inside the kivadis are bowls of milk which cannot be spilled, but will be splashed on the deity in the temple where the parade ends.
The Hindu "Bible" is called the Bhagavad-Gita, which has several translations of the original Vedic (Sanskrit) writings.
Sri Mariamman Temple
Singapore's oldest surviving Hindu shrine, Sri Mariamman, is in the heart of Chinatown. The many-tiered tower of deities on the top is called a gopuram, and the original building was erected in the early 1820's. It is a center for worship and is the focus of every major Hindu festival, including the fire-walking festival of Thimithi and the atonement festival known as Thaipusam.
Bibliography
Singapore: Island Nation, Irene Hoe,
Passport Books, Illinois, 1989
Batu Caves
The Batu Caves are 8 miles ( 13 kms.) from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. They are a group of caves which are set up high in the cliff face of a limestone massif. The caves have been sacred to Hindus since 1891 when Hindu priests set them up as a shrine to Lord Subramaniam.
There are 272 steps to climb to get into the main cave, and usually there are plenty of monkeys along the way to provide entertainment. (it's advised not to play with them since it can result in a nasty bite from the leader of that monkey's pack!)
More than 100,000 Hindus gather here for Thaipusam which occurs annually in late January or early February.
Bibliography
Malaysia, Land Where the Winds Meet. Wendy Moore, Passport Books, Chicago, 1989.
