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Kavadi Aattam (Tamil:காவடி ஆட்டம்,romanized: burden dance) is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship ofMurugan, theHindu god of war.[1] It is a central part of the festival ofThaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. TheKavadi ("burden") itself is a physical burden, the bearing of which is used by the devotee to imploreMurugan for assistance, usually on behalf of a loved one who is in need of healing, or as a means of balancing a spiritual debt.[2] Devotees process and dance along a pilgrimage route while bearing these burdens.
InTamil mythology,Shiva is said to have entrusted the sageAgastya with two hillocks, the Shivagiri hill, and the Shaktigiri hill, with instructions to carry and install them inSouth India. The sage left them in a forest and later tasked his discipleIdumban to get them. Idumban put the hillocks down to rest awhile near the present day town ofPalani,Tamil Nadu but could not lift them back. Idumban had a scuffle with a youth who claimed ownership of the hillocks and in the ensuing scuffle, Idumban was defeated. Idumban then realised that the youth was the Hindu GodMurugan and prayed for his help.[3] ThePalani Murugan Temple stands atop a hill at the location.
Murugan had previously been outwitted in a contest for going round the world where his brotherVinayakar won thejñāna paḻam, the fruit of wisdom. In anger and frustration, he leftMount Kailash and came down toTiru Avinankudi, the foot of the Sivagiri Hill. His divine parentsShiva andParvati tried to pacify him but Murugan withdrew to the hill and settled there as a recluse in peace and solitude.[4]
Idumban prayed to Murugan that whoever carried on thekavadi on their shoulders signifying the two hills and visited the temple on a vow should be blessed and that he be given the privilege of standing sentinel at the entrance to the hill. This custom ofkavadi aattam has spread from Palani to other Murugan shrines worldwide.
The preparations start 48 days before the two-dayThaipusam festival. The devotees purge themselves of all mental and physical impurities. They take only one vegetarian meal per day and 24 hours beforeThaipusam, they must maintain a complete fast.[2] The devotees prepare themselves by following strict purification austerities that include transcendence of desire, shaving of the head, following a vegetarian diet and refraining from alcohol, sexual abstinence, bathing daily in cold water, sleeping on the floor and constant prayer.[1]
On the day of the festival, devotees undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types ofkavadi (burdens). Akavadi consists of two semicircular pieces of wood or steel which are bent and attached to a cross structure that can be balanced on the shoulders of the devotee. It is often decorated with flowers and peacock feathers (the mount of Murugan) among other things. Some of thekavadi can weigh up to 30 kg.[2]
At its simplest, a kavadi may entail carrying a pot ofmilk (pal kavadi), but piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. The most spectacular practice is thevel kavadi, essentially a portable altar up to two meters tall, decorated with peacock feathers and attached to the devotee through multiplevels pierced into the skin on the chest and back. Fire walking andflagellation may also be practiced. It is claimed that devotees are able to enter atrance to overcome pain.[2]
Thaipusam is celebrated by theTamils, and in someTelugu people nearTamilnadu and Malyalees of Kerala inIndia and other countries likeSri Lanka,Malaysia,Fiji,Mauritius,Singapore,Canada,United States,United Kingdom,Germany,France,Italy,South Africa andIndonesia.[5][6][7]
