Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass...

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My experience with the Hindu religious festival began the night before I went to the Batu Caves. My new Danish friend and I were walking through the rain in Kuala Lumpur, discussing how much both our countries are hated by most of the world at this point in time when we noticed that a large number of Hindu people walking in the same direction as if they were caught up in the tide of a stream. Naturally, at 1am with nothing much to do but wander, we followed the stream and found a river of Hindus on a Pilgrimage of sorts, headed towards the Batu Caves.

The only concrete facts I received about this festival is that Hindus from all around Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia head towards the Batu Caves during this time of year to pray for their friends and family. Everything else was conjecture and any suggestions as to a deeper meaning for the festival revealing some insight as to why they carried themselves in the manner in which they did would be of great use because as I write this, though I feel privileged to have witnessed their ritual, I am completely awestruck as to what exactly I’ve seen.

Having laid out that disclaimer, I’ll attempt to explain what I saw and hope that some of these pictures can help more than my words:

Nearly everyone from the hostel boarded onto the bus in the center of Kuala Lumpur near Chinatown. It had been fairly bad weather with consistent spit from the sky but no real rain to speak of. We traveled no more than 15 minutes to our destination which would explain why so many of the people I saw the night before were walking to their destination. Where we were dropped off by the bus appeared to be no more than a fairground composed of a ferris wheel, some smaller rides and many, many vendors selling food of a local variety.

Over the sights and lights that dominated all that you can see, there was the loudest clutter of noise I’ve ever heard with no discernable tone, rhythm, or pitch, just loud noise. As we walked closer to the fairground we caught sight of the procession of people walking from the direction which our bus had come. Many of these people looked physically exhausted and they hadn’t even reached the taxing part of the journey into the caves. The cacaphony, as I learned walking further was a combination of Hindu music, over which vendors screamed into megaphones, over which people were chanting, over which more music was being played, over which, you get the picture. Everyone with something to say was competing with everything else that was happening so the volume just got louder and louder. I should mention that I arrived at the caves around 9:30, at which time I was completely overwhelmed, but by the time we left, nearing midnight, the crowd had easily doubled in size and the volume, though I was now used to it was near deafening decibel levels.

The caves or at least the courtyard before the entrance to the steps to the caves had a distinct entrance above which stood statues of many of the Hindu gods. Once inside the entrance, you had your first clear look at what I’m guessing was a 300 meter high golden statue. Who this statue was of, or why it was erected so high, I have no idea but it was the most imposing religious structure I’ve seen since I stood in St. Peters Square and gazed upon the Vatican. To the left of the Golden Statue were 330 plus steps which is why I can guestimate the statue at 300 meters, leading into the Batu Caves. The steps were segmented into 3 parts, or lanes, as the pictures clearly indicate. The far left was for going up, the far right was for going down. The center lane, while on my way up, was reserved for Hindus with offerings while the left lane was reserved for tourists and anyone not bringing offerings to the temples inside the caves. On the way down, it must have been a busy time because they reversed the center lane and made it a down lane so that they could clear some space in the caves for the next wave of offerings.

Once up the first set of steps, all 330 plus of them, there was a platform where you could buy water, flowers, coconuts, tapestries, cds, basically there was a bloated vendor at the top of the stairs which struck me as odd. Have you ever been to a religious ceremony where you could buy a Pepsi or cd right in the middle of worshipping? The water was a good idea because I saw many winded individuals at the top of the stairs, add in the fact that humidity was extremely high due to the weather and I saw more than a few people faint of exhaustion. Aside from the vendor stand, there were 2 alters where the patrons presented their offerings and were blessed by holy men.

At the far reached of the cave there was yet another set of steps, but only about 30 or so. At the top of these steps were another two temples where most of the patrons who had already given their offerings went to say a little prayer, presumably for their family and friends.

I should say that the Batu Caves were not like the typical cave you would imagine. The ceiling was over 30 meters high and there were flood lights set up every 50 meters or so because without them, you wouldn’t be able to see a thing. The caves were in fact caves because they were enclosed from the weather outside with the exception of a leak in a few spots around the temples.

I’m having trouble with my descriptions of this event because although I’ve described the procession and the layout of what I witnessed, it’s the people involved in the ceremony that was the befuddling part. Initially it seemed like self-torture but I understand that it must be more than that. Many of the men and some of the women had pierced rods through both their mouth into both their cheeks. Many of the men, but mostly the yonger boys of my age pierced their backs with fishing hooks and carried on the hooks everything from bells to herbs to fruit such as apples and oranges. I saw one young man carrying over 40 oranges by hook on his back up the stairs. At the top of the stairs I saw another young man so entranced that his body began to spasm and he needed to be held up by three other men before vomiting all over the floor.

There was another set of men, much older than the young men with multiple items hooked to their backs, that carried constructions that looked as if they were on loan from the mummers parade in Philadelphia. These contraptions rested on the men’s shoulders and were fastened to their waists to ensure stability but for good measure there were as many as twenty chains hooked into all parts of the men’s upper bodies. The tops of these structures varied from peacock recreations to mini temples consistent of idols and statues. The compelling part of these mummer type men was that they didn’t simply carry their burdens up the stairs and then place them at the temples, they danced nearly every step of the way, spinning and jumping. There were chants by surrounding pilgrims which they responded to in order to keep them alert and on point.

As I’ve mentioned before, many of these pilgrims walked all the way from Kuala Lumpur so many of them were exhausted when they reached the caves. Once at the caves, I saw so many people work themselves into a type of religious frenzy that they probably believed they were the only people in the world. I saw so many glassy eyes and blank stares that I was more than concerned for the welfare of these individuals; I thought they might pass into a coma, never to return. Surprisingly, the medic tent was relatively empty as once they “snapped out of it” they simply hydrated and were back to their normal selves.

I’ve never believed in a spirit possessing the body but I would say without hesitation that some of these people were possessed by some type of religious fever that took such a hold of them I thought they’d never return. It is this religious fever that apparently allows the pilgrims to survive the mashochistic acts they subjects themselves to. As pennance, the more maschochistic the act, the more you are appealing to the gods for forgiveness.

Again, I apologize for my ignorance of the Hindu religion as I’m sure I would be able to explain better what I saw had I possessed some type of background information but I feel it is my new obligation to learn all about what I’ve witnessed and relay that information to anyone who asks. I feel that I have such a grasp of Christianity and its religious ceremonies that to be as ignorant of such another large religion’s practices is unacceptable.

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