Kavadi - ultimate test of faith

Lionel Wijesiri

Kavadi is not a strange concept to the average Sri Lankan, whether the person is Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or Burgher. Most of us would have seen Kavadi Attam - the dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Skanda or Lord Murugan

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival where you find Kavadi in abundance. It is celebrated mostly by the Tamil community once a year. The festival commemorates the

occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. Thaipusam celebrations take place in many countries where there are Tamil population including Tamil Nadu, Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia. The temple at Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, often attracts over one million devotees. The procession to the caves starts at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur in the heart of the city and proceeds for 15 kilometres to the caves, an eight-hour journey culminating in a flight of 272 steps to the top. The number of Kavadis reaching Batu Caves for festival is over 25,000.

This is an exhilarating experience. Last year, at the festival I met Narain Appala Swamy, an Indian lecturer in Hindu Philosophy. He explained to me the origin of Kavadi and its significance to the modern world.

Origin

A colourful legend lies behind the origin of Kavadi. The narration goes like this: the great Saint, Agasthya, instructed his student, Idumban to uproot two hills called Sivagiri and Shakthigiri belonging to Lord Murugan and bring them back to him. As commanded, Idumban went to Mount Kailai Range where the hills rested and uprooted them and began to come back. But Lord Murugan had other plans.

Suddenly Idumban found that he couldn’t carry the hills anymore. To his bewilderment, a child was standing haughtily on the hill. Idumban humbly requested the boy to get down. When the child refused, Idumban flew into a rage and tried to attack him, only to find himself falling like an injured bird. Idumban belatedly recognised the boy as none other than Murugan and prayed to Him that whosoever carried on his shoulders the Kavadi, signifying the two hills and visited the temple on a vow should be blessed. His prayer was answered.

Another view

There is another view. Hindu deities have animals and birds as their vehicles and peacock is the vehicle for Lord Murugan. The metal frame of which the Kavadi is made is fully decorated with peacock feathers that are blue in colour - philosophically blue is the colour of the sky and the ocean - suggesting the colour of the universe.

Some Hindu intellectuals believe that Kavadi, the central wooden beam represents the human body while the two pots hanging on either side represent the good deeds done in one’s true life on one side and the evil on the other side. Carrying this on his shoulders, the devotee appeals to the Lord for forgiveness for his evil deeds and blessings for the good deeds.

Certain devotees in order to show their willingness to offer themselves in the name and service of God in the form of penance and austerity, carry the symbol of Lord Murugan with Vel-shaped pins pierced all over their body to show their tolerance to suffering inflicted. In turn this prayer is symbolic of the willingness of the person to suffer for others out of humility and humbleness towards one’s fellow human beings.

Silver or steel Vel in many sizes are pierced into through skin, back, cheeks and tongue of the Kavadi-carrying devotees, signifying that the Vel destroys all the desires and evils in man and purifies him.

Types

There are few different types of Kavadi. Simplest of them is a pot of milk carried on the head; You also find a small spear pierced through the tongue to symbolize the vow of silence; or a metal rod pierced through the mouth (up to one meter long), signifying that the devotee has denounced the gift of speech temporarily and channeled his or her energy toward god.

The difficult ones are hooking smaller burdens like lemons, oranges or coconuts into one’s flesh (on the chest or back) or bigger hooks attached to a devotee’s back and used to pull a cart. The most spectacular practice is the Vel Kavadi, essentially a portable altar up to two meters tall, decorated with peacock feathers and attached to the devotee through 108 Vels pierced into the skin on the chest and back.

Shapes

The Kavadi has various shapes and sizes, from the simple shape of a hawker’s storehouse (a wooden stick with two baskets at each end slung across the shoulder) to the costly palanquin structure, profusely flower-bedecked and decoratively interwoven with peacock feathers. In all cases the Kavadi has a good many brass bells adorning it and announcing it as the Kavadi-bearer draws it along. As the Kavadi-bearer very often observes silence, the bells are the only eloquent signs of a Kavadi procession.

The two baskets hanging at each end of the Kavadi contain rice, milk or other articles that the devotee has vowed to offer the Lord Murugan. The more devout among them, and especially those who do it as a Sadhana, collect these articles by begging. They travel on foot from village to village and beg from door to door. The villagers offer their articles directly into the basket of the Kavadi. The Kavadi-bearer continues begging until the baskets are full or the avowed quantity is reached and then offers the Kavadi to the Lord.

The Kavadi-bearer is required to observe various rules between the time he takes up the Kavadi and the day of the offering. He has to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the Kavadi and at the time of offering it to the Lord. He also puts on the dress of a Pandaram, consisting a saffron-coloured cloth, a conical scarlet cap and a cane, silver-capped at both ends. The bare chest of the Kavadi-bearer is covered with several rudraksha malas. The Kavadi-bearer observes strict celibacy. Only pure food is taken; he abstains from all sorts of intoxicating drinks and drugs. He thinks of God all the time.

The Kavadi-bearer enjoys a high state of religious fervour. He dances in ecstasy. His very appearance is awe-inspiring; there is divine radiance on his face. Devotees claim they often experience the state of feeling united with the Lord. Sometimes the Lord enters them and possesses them for some time.