This page is not for the squeamish...if easily offended by body piercings, please turn away now! Thaipusam is one of the biggest Hindu religious celebrations. As far as we can understand (and apologies if we have got any of the details wrong), the Goddess Parvathi gave her son, Murugan, a vel (lance) with which he went out and slayed all the demons. The lance is transported to the temple. There are chariots depicting the image of Lord Subramanian, which are pulled through the streets and coconuts are smashed on the streets. That is how the event was described to us by the ever helpful locals on hand to explain the event. The devotees of Thaipusam which seemed to be all men (although woman can participate, if they choose) go to the temple after a month of
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