Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THAIPUSAM
The most spectacular Hindu festival in Malaysia is Thaipusam, a wild parade of confrontingly invasive body pier-
cings. The festival, which originated in Tamil Nadu (but is now banned in India), happens every year in the Hindu
month of Thai (January/February) and is celebrated with the most gusto at the Batu Caves, just outside Kuala
Lumpur.
The greatest spectacle is the devotees who subject themselves to seemingly masochistic acts as fulfilment for
answered prayers. Many carry offerings of milk in
paal kudam
(milk pots), often connected to the skin by hooks.
Even more striking are the
vel kavadi -
great cages of spikes that pierce the skin of the carrier and are decorated
with peacock feathers, pictures of deities and flowers. Some penitents go as far as piercing their tongues and
cheeks with hooks, skewers and tridents.
The festival is the culmination of around a month of prayer, a vegetarian diet and other ritual preparations, such
as abstinence from sex or sleeping on a hard floor. While it looks excruciating, a trance-like state stops parti-
cipants from feeling pain; later the wounds are treated with lemon juice and holy ash to prevent scarring. As with
the practice of firewalking, only the truly faithful should attempt the ritual. It is said that insufficiently prepared
devotees keep doctors especially busy over the Thaipusam festival period with skin lacerations, or by collapsing
after the strenuous activities.
Thaipusam is also celebrated in Penang at the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple and the Waterfall Hilltop Temple.
Animism
The animist religions of Malaysia's indigenous peoples are as diverse as the peoples them-
selves. While animism does not have a rigid system of tenets or codified beliefs, it can be
said that animists perceive natural phenomena to be animated by various spirits or deities,
and a complex system of practices is used to propitiate these spirits.
Ancestor worship is also a common feature of animist societies; departed souls are con-
sidered to be intermediaries between this world and the next.
Religious Issues
Freedom of Religon?
Islam is Malaysia's state religion, which has an impact on the cultural and social life of
the country at several levels. Government institutions and banks, for example, are closed
for two hours at lunchtime on Friday to allow Muslims to attend Friday prayers.
Government censors, with Islamic sensitivities in mind, dictate what can be performed
on public stages or screened in cinemas. This has led to Beyoncé cancelling her shows
when asked to adhere to strict guidelines on dress and performance style, and to the ban-
ning of movies such as
Schindler's List
and
Babe
- the themes of Jews being saved from
