February 3, 2015
Thaipusam Festival in and around Varkala

Hindu's do it suspended in the air!

Our words cannot describe all that went on. It is a mind-blowing festival. Wikipedia outlines sterile facts at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam. On this day, we got our cross-cultural lesson viscerally.

Thaipusam festival is also known as the Murugan or piercing festival. It is observed by Tamil ethic people of which there are 77 million worldwide. Most Tamils are Hindus and practice what is considered to be folk Hinduism. The vast majority of people in southern India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) are Tamil.
 
The annual festival commemorates the occasion when Goddess Parvati gave Murugan a "Vel" (a divine javelin or spear) so that he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. Once defeat of evil was imminent, Murugan hurled his Vel and split the mango tree into two halves, one becoming Seval (a rooster) and the other Mayil (a peacock).
 
To demonstrate gratitude and devotion to God Murugan, pilgrims go along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest, this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common.
 
 
Tamil Temple Tour
  
In order to have a few more minutes in bed, we all opted for a simple yoghurt and muesli breakfast and coffee. 

Milk
 
It was pitch dark out when the rickshaws pulled up promptly at 6 am. We were on our way in a sputtering convoy. Our driver pointed out women carrying milk pots in the pre-dawn darkness. "Yeah, milkmen used to deliver milk in the early morning when we were little," we thought, totally oblivious to the fact that the milk pots were kavadi and this was an integral part of the religious ceremony. The Thaipusam festival was already underway.
 

Drum Beats & Trucks with Poles
 
Our first stop was at a small temple near the train station. It was a beehive of commotion with steady beating of drums. Out front were parked two flower decorated trucks with large bamboo poles protruding from their fronts where pearcee's soon would be suspended. We could see men receiving blessings as ash was smeared on their face and bodies. Eventually, the rhythm of the drumbeats reached a feverish pitch. 

Not a Drop of Blood

Men twitching in trance-like state were supported by friends and made their way inside the temple where their piercing would take place. And one by one, men came out of the temple adorned with metal Vel skewers protruding from their cheeks, varying in size from a few feet, and thin as knitting needles, to 6 feet or more, and as thick as a pencil. All had people supporting them who made sure no one bumped into them. Next came the guys with what looked like meat hooks in their calves and backs. They were led to narrow wooden tables where they were observed and given water, the most amazing thing was that there was not a drop of blood from the puncture sites. 
 
We were happy that it wasn't teaming with other tourists. This was very special indeed. 
 

 
Poked Fan-Shape Skewers and Carefully Hung Tamils 

We continued on to the next celebration about 8 km further north. 

Here, they were in process of tying several devotees up by the hooks in their back and calves on the bamboo poles extended in front of the truck. Others were being pierced right out in the open. Most devotees were not showing any signs of pain or discomfort. We were the ones cringing. Some boys as young as four or five had their cheeks pierced with rod with a proud mom or dad beside them. One of our group witnessed a tiny baby being pierced. Not surprisingly, it is controversial and officially against the law but, still being done. 

This definitively has to be the most bizarre festival I have ever witnessed. 
 

 
Swinging and Swaying Parade

Our three stops after 10 am were in villages along parade routes. We chased processions of pierced men and boys walking or suspended in front of trucks on hooks, often pushed to create nice swing effect. Five guys shared one 10 meter long rod which pierced all cheeks.

I did see one older woman with a skewer through her cheeks. GIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING BOYS DO!
 

The Rickshaw Drivers Know

The rickshaws were a great way to go. The drivers knew when to be at which temple. 

The various temples seemed to have loosely coordinated schedules of staggered events. We'd leave one venue as the procession of piercees paraded away, then drove on to the next, where another group was just getting started. 

When we had seen enough, and after 1000 snaps of our cameras, we had our driver take us home. 
   
 
Evening Murugan Carnival
 
The evening events promised to be watered down versions of the morning events. It turned out to be more joyous.

After lounging at a beach view restaurant for the mid-day, we followed the rickshaws on our motorcycle to a temple south of Varkala. We wanted to get just a short glimpse of the festivities and get home early. 
 
We got to the temple and visited with some guys who were dressing up as women for a temple skit. Loads of foreign tourists began to arrive. This part of the festival, apparently, was better advertised among the westerners. 

There were a few floats ready to be pulled in a parade and we guessed the evening would have a carnival like program. We didn't want to wait around for things to get started and began to drive back to Kaiya House.

Colorful Costumes

Along the way back to our hotel, we ran into temple troops parading along the highway under heavy kavadi, decorated platforms strapped to their shoulders. Other heavily painted men, portraying female deities, marched wearing elaborate costumes which would be at home in any gay pride parade around the world. Here, they are costumes of the gods. The troops were going from one temple to the next, collecting small donations on the way. It was fun time for them now that the piercing sacrifices were over for the year. 
 
This is sure to be our most memorable day of our visit to India and easily the most intense of the year.

 
2016 Date: Saturday, 23 January

Mark your 2016 calendars now. As well as Kerala, Thaipusam is celebrated in Tamil communities in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Guadeloupe, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar. If you are going to anywhere near these place, you won't want to miss it.