BATU CAVES, MALAYSIA:

World Without Pain

Thaipusam Festival at Batu Caves of Malaysia

Things begin to unravel in the wee hours. There might be no logic in what appears to be a sadomasochist rite. But then, what explains the gathering of over a million devotees and tourists, united in their decision to head over on foot to the Batu Caves?

In time, the traveler catches what seems to be a parade, with dusky people holding up wooden frames housing Hindu icons and religious images. Some of them carry vessels bearing food, like milk – sacrificial offerings.

Expect to hear someone say kavadi. Some kavadis look basic, but one’s eyes may brighten at the sight of a half-naked young man carrying on his shoulders a spanking-new wooden structure with an arch covered by a piece of cloth. On each side of the arch are flowers and peacock feathers.

A small statue may remind a pilgrim of the golden Buddha, but it must be the deity that is the subject of this collective merrymaking: the one they revere as Lord Murugan. The god of war, the youngest son of Shiva and wife Parvati.

Thaipusam’s underlying motivation appears simple and highly relatable: to commemorate the success of good over evil, of Lord Murugan against the demon Tharakasuran and the Asura army. All these ceremonial acts are a form of sacrifice and penance for wrongdoings, and thanksgiving for all wishes or favors granted.

Such a day is a public holiday in this part of Malaysia. The official declaration makes it easy for anyone willing to participate. Shockers never end in this occasion. There’s a woman piercing her cheeks with a metal rod and she is not even complaining – no sign of pain whatsoever on her face. Two more devotees pierce their cheeks, and tongues. In the middle of some chanting, a group of revellers falls into a trance.

Reverie can be cut short by the sight of a man dancing – in jubilation, it seems. Then comes a boy, then a woman with a bald head. It is also a day of free haircuts, the shedding off of precious hair seen as a form of sacrifice.

The more powerful the merriment becomes when one gets closer to the Batu Caves, together with the crowd. The bold gets bolder with multiple piercings on their skin, or more fruits added at the end of the metal skewers. The more blissful those in trance get, the more devotees and tourists alike join in. The drums and bugles and cymbals match the intensity of the chanting and the dancing.

Finally, Batu Caves. These lavish limestone structures are estimated to have formed about 400 million years ago. The excruciating journey now comes to an end, as a holy man blesses devotees with ashes sprinkled on the metal rods and hooks on their skin before the contraptions are removed one by one. But wonder of wonders – blood is not shed! Pain doesn’t seem to exist here.

Nearby is a river called Sungai Batu, where men and women gather to bathe. Others proceed to take the steps leading to the caves. Many from the throng take the balustrades on each side of the stairs, preferring to be onlookers. Then the traveler comes face to face with Lord Murugan, no less. And just as pain seem not to exist here, words escape as well, at the sight of this god.