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Thousands of Hindu devotees throng Batu Caves to pay homage to Lord Subramaniam during Thaipusam
When:
Jan 2009 (annual)
Where:
Batu Caves
Cost:
Free
Opening Hours:
All day
Every year, more than a million devotees gather at the Batu Caves - a spectacular site outside Kuala Lumpur - to celebrate the Hindu festival of Thaipusam.
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Thaipusam commemorates the day when the Goddess Parvathi gave her son Murugan an invincible vel (lance), with which he vanquished the evil asura (demons). The festival starts with a procession through the town. A silver chariot carries the image of Lord Subramaniam, Shiva's youngest son, and people throw coconuts on the ground beside it.
The devotees then head for the Batu Caves, which are both a Hindu pilgrimage site and one of Malaysia's great natural wonders, with three main caves and hundreds of smaller ones. The Temple Cave, which contains shrines to the Hindu gods, has a vaulted ceiling 100 metres high. Below it is the Dark Cave - a two-kilometre (1.2 miles) network of caverns containing a large number of cave animals, including species found nowhere else in the world. (It's impossible to enter the Dark Caves without permission from the Malaysian Nature Society, and there are strict rules governing visiting times.) There is also an "Art Gallery Cave" containing statues and wall paintings depicting Hindu mythology.
Penitents atone for their sins and commemorate the giving of the vel by dragging kavadis ("burdens") up the 272 steps to the cave and depositing them at the feet of the deity. Devotees prepare themselves at the Batu River, praying and entering a trance-like state before donning the kavadis - metal frames weighing up to 50 pounds, attached to the carriers by steel hooks inserted into the skin of the chest, back and face. The more flamboyant put skewers through their cheeks or tongues to represent the vel, and a few young men make the journey up the caves with large steel hooks in their backs.
Altogether, this is probably one of the most incredible sights you'll ever see - although we don't recommend it for the squeamish.
The devotees then head for the Batu Caves, which are both a Hindu pilgrimage site and one of Malaysia's great natural wonders, with three main caves and hundreds of smaller ones. The Temple Cave, which contains shrines to the Hindu gods, has a vaulted ceiling 100 metres high. Below it is the Dark Cave - a two-kilometre (1.2 miles) network of caverns containing a large number of cave animals, including species found nowhere else in the world. (It's impossible to enter the Dark Caves without permission from the Malaysian Nature Society, and there are strict rules governing visiting times.) There is also an "Art Gallery Cave" containing statues and wall paintings depicting Hindu mythology.
Penitents atone for their sins and commemorate the giving of the vel by dragging kavadis ("burdens") up the 272 steps to the cave and depositing them at the feet of the deity. Devotees prepare themselves at the Batu River, praying and entering a trance-like state before donning the kavadis - metal frames weighing up to 50 pounds, attached to the carriers by steel hooks inserted into the skin of the chest, back and face. The more flamboyant put skewers through their cheeks or tongues to represent the vel, and a few young men make the journey up the caves with large steel hooks in their backs.
Altogether, this is probably one of the most incredible sights you'll ever see - although we don't recommend it for the squeamish.
Event details can change.
Please check with the organisers that the event is happening before making travel arrangements.
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