Kuala Lumpur Events
Thaipusam © saffandi
Thaipusam
Malaysia celebrates numerous religious festivals, but the best
known and most popular with tourists is the Hindu test of faith and
endurance, Thaipusam, held at Batu Caves during the tenth month of
the Hindu calendar. This festival, involving a procession of
devotees carrying yokes (kavadi), bearing offerings, up hundreds of
steps, is not for the squeamish. The bearers, in a trance-like
state, are pierced with skewers through tongues and cheeks, with
hooks and spears pierced through other body parts. The procession
follows a ceremonial decorated chariot drawn by bullocks.
Venue: Batu Caves, about seven miles north of Kuala Lumpur;
Date: January 2010, TBA
