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Thaipusam
Thaipusam is celebrated on the Hindu month of Thai. In this period of the western calendar, the month of Thai falls within the first quarter of the year. Hindu devotees fast for a month, abstaining from meat, aphrodisiacs such as garlic and onions and live a month-long life of worship and prayer.
There are many views to Thaipusam, while many folks pierce themselves and walk on nails as penance to the gods, many Hindus say that the act of piercing is not part of the worship of Thaipusam. They seem to imply that body-piercing during Thaipusam is a culturally-induced ritual rather than a spiritual action.
With all its controversies, Thaipusam remains the biggest gathering of people in Malaysia. It is also a real cultural experience and a feast for all your senses.
The two main locations of this festival are at Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur and in Penang. In Malacca, the festival there is speckled by a rare sight of Chinese Hindus performing what has traditionally been an Indian celebration in Malaysia.
This collection is an on-going project of mine. My objective is to portray every facet of Thaipusam in my photographs. Some of the images of the piercings can be quite attention-grabbing however there is a quieter, more personal journey of Thaipusam. This is depicted in the photograph of the lady with a cloth tied over her shaven head caught in a rapture of her devotion (image no. 12).
Thaipusam isn't all about piercings. There are many layers to this ancient celebration. Family and friends play a huge role in aiding the devotee through his ordeal. The hammering of drums and clashes of finger cymbals over the chanting through the megaphone create an aural space that devotees weave in and out off; taking them in and out the trance state. The colours, sounds, smells and millions of people make Thaipusam a unique festival to be a part of.
Wikipedia has a good explaination of Thaipusam here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam