Thaipusam
Singapore
in Little India
- A Festival for the Brave
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Thaipusam Singapore Date:
30 January 2010
Where:
Serangoon Rd, Selegie Road, Tank Road.
Best Time to See It:
All day
Best Place to See It:
Sri
Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road. Take the MRT to Farrer Park Station and follow directions to Temple.
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On this page: [Meaning of Thaipusam] [Thaipusam Photo Tour] [Tips for Tourists]
Believe
me. Thaipusam Singapore-style is one Festival
that can give you goosebumps. No where else will you see people
piercing themselves with so many types of sharp objects.
It is
extremely spectacular, but a little overwhelming if you have a weak stomach. For me, it is a
fascinating festival to watch.
Thaipusam usually falls in January or February.
If you are visiting during this season, be sure to see the Thaipusam Singapore
Festival along Serangoon
Road.
Meaning of Thaipusam
Thaipusam actually celebrates the birthday of the Hindu
deity Subramaniam. On this occasion, Hindus show the
sincerity of their faith. It is a time for making and
fulfilling
vows. Devotees pray for divine
help and make vows. When their prayers are answered, they fulfil their
vows.
To do this, a devotee would pierce his cheeks, tongue, face
or other
suitable body parts with sharp objects. Next his friends or
relatives load a *
kavadi on his shoulder. Finally, in a trance-like
manner, he goes on a 4km journey of faith.
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* A kavadi is a
cage-like structure carried by devotees during the Thaipusam
Festival.
It
is traditionally decorated with peacock
feathers and aluminium
plates which show images of Hindu deities. Sharp
spikes criss-cross its lower section.
An elaborate kavadi might weigh up to 15kg!
It is quite something just to lift it. But these chaps
I
saw actually walked with them for 4km - kavadis, skewers, hooks, spikes
and all!
Some of them even skipped and danced with their kavadis. Either they have great endurance or
they have some supernatural help. |
Others, including young children, might join the procession carrying only milk pots. The Thaipusam Singapore procession starts
at
the Sri
Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road and ends at
the Sri
Thandayuthapani Temple on Tank Road.
At first look, one might think that the festival starts at one temple
and ends at another. Not so. Many of the devotees start fasting a
month
before
the Thaipusam Singapore festivities. Others fast a week. Yet others
three days.
A Hindu friend said this to me, "If you are going to put a
12-inch
skewer through your cheeks and a hundred spikes in your chest, you'd
better take your fast seriously!"
Thaipusam Festival Photo Tour
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Thaipusam
Singapore turns the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple into a busy, busy place.
Many devotees pray here during the week before the procession.
On the eve of the Festival, truck-loads of equipment arrive - kavadi
frames, spikes,
aluminium plates, etc.
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In the
backyard of the temple, these
devotees offer prayers before setting up their kavadis.
They first fill the metal containers with milk.
Next, they burn incense and light oil lamps.
If you count these milk holders, you'll notice that they
amount
to numbers ending with 1 - 21, 51, 101 and so on. Do
you
know why?
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The
prayers done, friends and relatives start loading
the
kavadi frames onto the shoulders of devotees.
Thaipusam preparations are never quiet affairs. In
the background,
musicians pound drums and blow bugles.
This music gets the devotees into the right frame of mind,
I am told.
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A
trusted relative pierces tens (or hundreds?) of spikes into the
devotee's body.
He then spreads these spikes out in a very interesting pattern, and
slots the free
ends into the kavadi.
Nobody cringes. Nobody bleeds! I mean I didn't see anybody feeling pain
at
Thaipusam Singapore ;).
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Leather
straps with bells are added to the ankles of some devotees.
I tried to look more carefully, but could not see if there were needles
beneath the straps.
Do you know why they wear these? |
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In
Hindu worship, lime symbolises protection by the deities.
Look at the number of fruits on this young man's back. No prizes for
guessing
what he's asking from the deities.
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Notice
the size of the fish hooks on this chap's back? And the milk pots
that hang from some of them?
This is not kid's play.
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I was
lucky enough to witness this body-piercing act - a
skewer being
pushed through the cheeks of a devotee.
The devotee's friends chant and sing in the background. Meanwhile, one
of them
massages the devotee's cheeks with some white powder.
At first, I thought the stuff was talcum powder.
My Hindu friend, Jelena, laughed. "Use talcum powder, and the
poor
chap would be screaming when the skewer goes through," she said.
"It has to be holy ash!" she insisted.
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Then
the moment of truth. The skewer goes in.
Amazingly, there is no blood, no tears, and no moaning! |
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Finally,
the skewer comes out from the other cheek. Truly astounding stuff.
Please don't try this at home. |
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Young
men, old men, and everyone in between - they all go through the
same age-old
Thaipusam rites. |
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Once
ready, the devotees with kavadis queue up to leave the temple. Friends
and
relatives rally around them.
Kavadi after kavadi, they line the temple grounds. |
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As each
devotee makes his way out of the temple, a friend lights up a de-husked
coconut and chants a prayer.
Next, in one fell swoop, this helper smashes the coconut against the
ground. The fruit breaks into bits.
What does all this mean?
Clue: The coconut represents an obstacle that the devotee wants to
overcome...
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Finally
the man of the moment makes his way onto Serangoon Road.
He carries his own load. But he's not alone. There are hundreds of
others doing the same.
At some places, traffic comes to a standstill. Who would not stop to
look?
During the Thaipusam Singapore Festival, drivers are unusually tolerant of
slow-moving
traffic. |
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For
some of the devotees, nothing less than the best will do. Look at how
elaborately they decorate their kavadis.
When a devotee dances and skips, these shiny plates dazzle under the
mid-day sun.
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Another
cheeky Hindu friend candidly shares a thought with me. She suspects the
devotees are trying to outdo each other. Every year, it seems,
the
kavadis become more and more elaborate. I mean, "Who has the most
beautiful kavadi?"
A very interesting thought from a self-assured Hindu. As for me, I'd
like
to believe that most do it for their gods. See the Thaipusam
Singapore Festival yourself and decide. |
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In
times like this, it's nice to have friends and relatives around you. |
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Especially
if they walk the whole way with you to Tank Road, singing, chanting and
cheering you on... |
Thaipusam Festival 2010 - Tips for Tourists
- Hotels near the Thaipusam Festival:
- Park Royal on Kitchener Road
- Albert Court Hotel
- Perak Hotel
- The preparations for the 'big day' actually begins the night before. Therefore, for Thaipusam Singapore 2010, you'll be able to see the prayers, burning of incense, et cetera, on the night of 29 Jan 2010.
If the
Thaipusam Singapore Photo Tour has fascinated you, why not see my other Little India Singapore Photo Tours?
