The Hindu Festival of Thaipusam -Part 2

Here's part 2. Part 1 here.

Well, I thought they were all possessed and, besides blessing ourselves with Holy Water, I attempted to get the schola to pray the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel too see whether the demons leave screaming. No such luck.

Bleeding backs.

Below, milk pots have become unhooked because they were not hooked deep enough.

But reports to the contrary notwithstanding, they did bleed. And appear fatigued. And tired. Water had to be poured to cool their feet as they walked on the hot tarred road.

This chap looks pretty pooped out to me.

Tired and sad looking, above and below.

Getting his feet wet.

Personally, I think it's more a matter of endurance than anything else. And willpower. Lots of it.

The Chinese get in on it too...

Both sides of the road were lined with refreshment stalls called thaneer panthals. These were sponsored by various groups, government departments and corporations.

These house Hindu deities and can be simple styrofoam carved images like the one above, to elaborate shrines, below.

The simple Motorola and the more elaborate and decorated Intel stall can be seen below.

I wanted to get a drink but the wussies of the schola were afraid of getting diarrhoea. Come on... you can't seriously think Intel would sponsor diarrhoea contaminated drinks, can you?

Free food consisting of rice, curry, lentils and vegetables served on banana leaves were also available to all. One such stall is shown here:

Anyway, all in all, I thought it was a fairly educational and interesting, though very tiring trip. I hope you have all enjoyed this peek into Hindu culture and the great diversity that exists in Penang.

My report on the priestly ordination of Deacon Matthew Bun, tomorrow. So remember to come back!