Thaipusam

The festival

Thaipusam is the great Tamil feast in honour of the god Murugan, who received from his mother Parvati the divine spear (vel) to defeat the demon Surapadman. In Malaysia, his beating heart is the temple of the caves of Batu, 13 km from Kuala Lumpur: the day before, the silver tank of Murugan leaves Sri Mahamariamman temple in the city centre in night procession; on the day said — the full moon of the month of Thai — more than one million faithful and curious converge towards the limestone hill.

The devotees who made a wish climb the 272 steps by wearing the kavadi, an arch decorated with peacock feathers sometimes set in the flesh by pins, or the simple milk pot (paal kudam), to the sound of the drums and songs "Vel, Vel". brought by Tamil immigrants in the nineteenth century, the holiday is a holiday in several Malaysian states and is also celebrated in Penang and Singapore.