S Thaipusam

THAIPUSAM FESTIVAL, SINGAPORE
1975-76
This is an Indian festival held around January or February. Male devotees go through the careful spiritual concentration first in order to ready themselves for the penance by piercing their bodies with heavy
spikes supporting loaded structures called "kavadi." The Kavadi is a wooden arch decorated with fruits,
pots of milk, or flowers. Some drive the kavadi through their tongues, cheeks, and bodies. Astonishingly,
not even one drop of blood shed while devotees march the 2-mile journey from Sri Srinivasa Perumal
Temple located on Sarangoon road to Sri Thandayuthapani on Tank road. Supporters gather around the
devotees chanting prayers, clapping their hands, and encouraging the devotees all along the way until
they reach the destination. Thaipusam is considered a superstitious penitential festival. Devotees must
make a prayer or fasting before going through the festival in honor of Lord Subramaniam.