Thaipusam: “My Malaysia” Photo Series (3)

“Happy are those who inhabit the caves of the mountains, meditating on the supreme light.” ("Sahityadarpana", Third Section, 33 ff.)

 

George Town. Penang, 20 January 2019

One of the aspects that interests me most, in the study of other cultures, is certainly the religious one. How faith is lived. I grew up photographically devouring, among others, the books of Abbas, Monika Bulaj, and Nomachi, which deal with this subject.

Obviously, due to visual impact and philosophical complexity, I have a strong attraction and fascination for Hindu celebrations, if nothing else because Ramayana and Mahābhārata are the basis of all epic and art from South East Asia to Malaysia and Indonesia, where there was still talk of Hindu-Buddha, a single philosophical and religious system, as can be seen in the iconography and statues of certain Buddhist temples in Malaysia and Indonesia.

It's also true that I know Bangladeshi Hinduism in Rome more than that of the Indian community; I have been going to their puja (prayers) at the temple for many years, and they are some of the closest friends I have in Rome.

But in Malaysia the Hindu community is predominantly Tamil, from southern India, completely different from the Bangladeshi Hare Krishna from northern India. Not only the faces change, but also the divinities they worship, and we are talking about a faith that has 330 million divinities.

 

So, I was very intrigued by the difference I could have encountered in my stay in Penang. In fact, in January, my dear friend Sri—the first Hindu person I met in a temple in Penang—told me that I could attend an unforgettable event, expected by all of them every year: the Thaipusam, a name totally unknown to me.

“But you have to be psychologically prepared,” Sri told me, “because if you've never seen this, you might be impressed.” And she showed me pictures of what goes on during these two days of prayer.

First of all, what is Thaipusam?

It's the worship of the Lord Murugan, a warrior deity, who received the spear from Parvati to kill the demon Soorapadman, and it's celebrated by the Tamil community on the full moon night of the Tamil month of Thai (January, February) which coincides with the star Pushya, known as Poosam in Tamil. The prayer is divided into two days, in the first the believers gather from the first light of dawn in Little India in George Town, with chariots and oxen, for the procession until the most symbolic moment of the day: the breaking of the coconuts, to thousands.

George Town. Penang, 20 January 2019

A very involving moment, but absolutely dangerous for the camera, I really feared for its safety more during this day than during the Holi festival; let's say that the crazed splinters of coconuts do more harm than colored powders. But you know, photographers are crazy people.

However, Sri me explained me the reason for the breaking of the coconuts: “Our souls, our hearts, are like coconuts, outwardly dark and hard, but inside there is the pure, soft and white part, our good part. Every time we forcefully throw one at the ground, we hope that it will break and free our hearts from the evil that surrounds them. The more we break, the more our hearts are free.”

Definitely shareable, but these are the insurmountable limits of religious photography: seeing, photographing, understanding, but not imitating if you are not of the same religion. But I totally agree until the core.

 

All the faithful fast and pray for weeks before these 48 hours, until the next day which is the culmination of the cult, with the great procession of thousands and thousands of people to the temple.

In Malaysia there are two temples dedicated to the worship of the Lord Murugan: the most famous one is the Batu Caves temple in Kuala Lumpur, in a cave, with its 272 steps to climb after a procession of 15 kilometers. The second, fortunately for me, is in Penang, and if it's the second for fame, it's the first for size and height.

The Balathandayuthapani Temple, officially the Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Kovil, but known as Waterfall Hill Temple or “Thaneer Malai” in Tamil, with its 513 steps and 21.6 meters in its highest tower (gopuram) it's the largest temple dedicated to the Lord Murugan outside India.

George Town. Penang,  21 January 2019

 

During this day, we witness a bloody show, for strong stomachs, to which my friend had prepared me by showing me the photos. That is, in the slow procession that lasts all day, the faithful hold in their heads metal skins containing milk and rose petals to offer to the divinity reached the top of the temple, or – the bravest – they cover their bodies of piercing, hooks and pierce the cheeks, mouth and tongue with pins and blades, as a sign of devotion.

Then all together, under a scorching sun, climb the 513 steps, repeating like a mantra “Vel! Vel!” which instills courage and strength, until they reach the temple and passes before the goddess to honor: only after this can piercings and blades be removed from the body and mouth, with deep pain; among them there are also women, and there are many who fall into a trance, for a mix of devotion, heat, tiredness and physical pain.

I made them all the steps, it would have taken us about an hour and a half, one step at a time, all pressed against each other and sweaty to the skeleton.

On the right and left I had students' faces, women with their tongues out like Kali, in trance, men with fireplaces and pins passing from one cheek to the other.

    

George Town. Penang, 21 January 2019

 

It has been two days that I will never forget, and I wish I had a second chance to see it. I will always carry this experience with me, and I still thank Sri and her family who kept me with them in those two days.

The photographs that I could choose were many, but the photo above is the one that excites me most, for the strong light, the smoke of the incense but, above all, for the woman's face completely absorbed in the prayers, with a mystical smile.

Undeniably, Malaysia is also this.

 

P.S. A thought and a hug, in particular, to Sri's dad who is no longer with us...

Meendum santhipom, Appa (Good-bye dad)

 

George Town. Penang, 20-21 January 2019

 

Abbas: “Gods I've seen – Abbas\ Magnum” (Phaidon, 2016)

Monika Bulaj: “Genti di Dio. Viaggio nell'altra Europa” (Frassinelli, 2008)

Kazuyoshi Nomachi: “Le Vie del Sacro” (National Geographic Italia, 2014)

Matteo Frantolini: “I Believe” (Crowdbooks, 2017) 

Watch the video:

Italian version