#What I saw and heard today#Today I went to see the Thaipusam Festival in Penang for Indians. Legend has it that Thaipusam is in honor of Dewa Murugan, the Indian god of war, during his lifetime

#What I saw and heard today#Today I went to see the Thaipusam Festival in Penang for Indians. Legend has it that Thaipusam commemorates Dewa Murugan, the Indian god of war, who was given a spear by his parents, Lord Shiva and the goddess of the snow-capped mountains, who later defeated Suraphaman and his army, and was also regarded as the embodiment of light and wisdom. Therefore, Thaipusam also symbolizes the victory of "good over evil", and believers will pray to Murugan on Thaipusam Day to express gratitude and atonement, and it is also a day of devout resonance of disciples to atonement for sins, vows and thanksgiving.

Thaipusam is usually celebrated for three days, the first day is the day when the gods travel, offering offerings such as flowers and milk, and smashing coconuts during the procession, the second day is the ritual of "making a wish" and "repaying the wish", in which the devotees carry a kavadi palanquin and perform the Kavadi dance (a symbol of atonement) to worship Mrugan, and on the third day they send the gods home. There are many different types of kavadi palanquins, weighing between 30 and 100 kg, and they are often decorated with statues of Mulugan or his mount, the peacock, and some are carried on the shoulders and spears are pierced through their cheeks or tongues. As for the female believers, it is Paal Kavadi, which means putting milk on the head.

I asked one of my Indian friends who used to participate in Thaipusam, and he said that the participants had been vegetarian for a month, so there was no pain.