Tens of thousands of Malaysian Hindus celebrate Thaipusam festival
Bearing offerings such as milk pots and heavy ornate metal structures called kavadis, devotees walked barefoot up 272 steps to reach Batu Caves temple — an important religious site for local Hindus.
While more than half Malaysia's 32 million people are Muslim, the country is home to around two million ethnic Indians.
Ethnic Indian Malaysians have massed in Hindu temples across the country to celebrate the annual Thaipusam festival, months after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions that had barred large crowds.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Batu Caves temple just outside Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, many piercing their bodies with hooks and skewers in an act of devotion to the deity Lord Murugan.
The event commemorates the day when the goddess Parvathi gave her son Lord Murugan a powerful lance to fight evil demons.
Lord Murugan is particularly revered in southern India and among ethnic Tamil communities in Southeast Asia, with Thaipusam also celebrated in India and Singapore.
Bearing offerings such as milk pots and heavy ornate metal structures called kavadis, devotees walked barefoot up 272 steps to reach the temple — an important religious site for local Hindus.
This year's celebration was the liveliest seen in recent years, with devotees glad at being allowed to return to observe their rituals.
"(Previously) we couldn't do our vows due to the Covid-19 lockdown," Kupuvanes Tetchanamwoorthy, 45, told AFP news agency.
"This year we could come here and take our vows ... I feel so grateful."
This year's celebration was the liveliest seen in recent years, with devotees glad at being allowed to return to observe their rituals.
Bearing offerings
Some devotees appeared to be in a state of trance as they carried the kavadis, which can weigh as much as 100 kilograms.
Others pierced their bodies with skewers or hung multiple hooks and chains from their bodies in an act of penance.
Prior to Thaipusam, devotees will typically hold daily prayer sessions and stick to a strict vegetarian diet for weeks.
"When we pray for something, we need to give him (Lord Murugan) back something as a blessing," devotee Bahvani Kumaran, 63, said.
"Sometimes with your vow, you carry the kavadi, or carry the milk. Whichever way, it is something that you give back to him."
READ MORE: Millions of Hindus celebrate the annual Thaipusam festival
Prior to Thaipusam, devotees will typically hold daily prayer sessions and stick to a strict vegetarian diet for weeks.
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