• By Travelspoc

Everything You Need To Know About Experiencing Thaipusam At Batu Caves, Malaysia

Every year the impressive Thaipusam Festival celebrations take place inside the Batu caves near Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur.

A million devotees and visitors gather from all over Asia for a frenetic event that sees extreme body piercings with needles, hooks and spears, and a procession where devotees in trance carry along a kavadi or physical burden as an offer to their god.

What is the Thaipusam Festival?

Thaipusam is a Hindu event dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Murugan, the youngest son of Lord Shiva and conqueror of evil. He’s the god of war and victory and often depicted as a man with multiple faces, riding a blue peacock. Celebrated mainly by Tamils, anyone who seeks favour from Lord Murugan has to participate in the festival and do penance for past sins.

In Malaysia the festival is especially important and celebrated by its small Tamil community who are joined by more than a million pilgrims from South-India. Thaipusam is also celebrated in South-India itself but not in such an extreme fashion as in Malaysia, which is why according to many Indians the Malaysian version is purer and more religious.

The celebrations in the Batu Caves include spectacular scenes, making Thaipusam fascinating, surprising, cruel and sometimes a little scary. The caves are completely dedicated to Lord Murugan. A motivated core of devotees carry their kavadis – some of which can weigh up to 30 kg – up the 272 steps. During the Thaipusam Festival in 2006, a golden, 43-metre-tall statue of Lord Murugan was erected near the entrance of the caves, making it the largest statue in Malaysia.

What to expect during Thaipusam Festival 2024?

Devotees pierce various body parts with needles and spears, especially through the cheeks and tongue. The skin on the back is pierced with hooks to which limes are attached that pull on the hooks when the person in question whirls around in a trance.

On the main day, a kavadi is carried to the temple and offered to Lord Murugan. Kavadis are large, decorated yokes that are usually carried or pulled along with hooks attached to the worshippers’ backs.

When does Thaipusam Festival 2024 take place?

Thaipusam is celebrated every year during full moon of the Tamil month Thai in the Hindu lunar calendar, which usually falls at the end of January to the beginning of February. In 2024 Thaipusam is on 25 January.