Singapore is quite an amazingly diverse country. One of the smaller but very strong groups is Indian. Specifically, they're the Tamils from Southern India. That means we get many, many Hindu festivals and celebrations. This one, though, is very unique.
On the day of the festival, Hindu devotees (mostly men) undertake a pilgrimage while carrying kavadis (burdens). It is about a 5k route from a temple in Little India to a beautiful Hindu temple downtown. The simplest kavadis are pots of milk that are then given as offerings at the final temple. Most devotees, however, undergo a greusome process of mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin with little rods or spears that then support a huge canopy. Many also pierce their tongue and/or cheeks to prevent them from speaking and give power of endurance.
It was absolutely fascinating!
We left the boys out from this one. Mike managed to work from home so he could take off for lunch with us and visit the first temple where we saw people preparing for their pilgrimage. We watched these amazingly devoted men undergo piercing with rods and hooks for lemons or milk pots. There was loud music and drumming and large crowds. It seemed that part of the worship process on this day involved others supporting the devotees through helping them be pierced, supporting them along the journey, giving offering at the temple, and praying for the devotees. Amazing.
In the evening after the boys were in bed, we headed downtown to the final temple to watch people arriving and giving their offerings of milk. The devotees looked so focused. (It sort of reminded me of labor. It sometimes looked like their mind was so focused on that experience of surviving through the pain, they sort of went to a different place. Remarkable.) Afterwards, their friends and families would help them take off the kavardis and remove all the piercings. That part almost looked more difficult than anything. It looked like once the spear was removed and the wound was exposed, that was in some ways the most painful part. They would wrap the men's bodies over the wounds and massage them, give them water. Women came around with food for them. There was only one female devotee we saw. She only had her mouth pierced and had many friends and family taking pictures with her after she had finished her pilgrimage. However, after they took out the spear that pierced her mouth, she looked pale and weak. I think she threw up. The intensity of her reaction really hit us. What incredible devotion and unbelievable thing to experience.
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| Some devotees wear spiked shoes for the walk. |
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