Malaysians turn to Hindu god
Source: Agencies |
January 14, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TO give thanks to a powerful god for blessing him with a daughter, Sharma Muthu will skewer his tongue with a spear for Malaysia's largest Hindu festival.
The government official will be one of many thousands who will go into a trance and pierce their bodies with hooks and spears to honor Lord Murugan, the god of war and fertility, at his cave temple in the Malaysian capital next Thursday.
"I have five sons and I always wanted a daughter. No medicine could have helped me in this, so I turned to the god and put my faith in him. Now I must repay this miracle," Muthu said after he offered prayers at the Batu Caves shrine.
Malaysians are increasingly seeking spiritual aid from an assortment of gods and faith healers to solve personal problems in this mostly-Muslim but multi-religious Southeast Asia nation.
The Thaipusam festival, which originated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and was introduced to Malaysia in the 19th century by immigrant Indian workers, reflects a growing faith in the Hindu god's power to bless devotees with children and cure serious illnesses.
Thaipusam is no longer widely celebrated in India, but in Malaysia the festival has stretched beyond the ethnic Indian community.
In 2008, the government had to declare it a public holiday to give devotees time off to perform the thanksgiving rituals.
In preparation for the festival, Muthu fasts for 48 days and abstains from sex. On the day itself, he will shave his head, smear sandalwood all over his body and listen to priests chanting mantras until he falls into a trance, when his tongue will be pierced with an 18-centimeter spear.
Last year, over one million people of different ethnic backgrounds trekked up to Batu Caves temple to repay the god for granting requests such as bagging a new job and getting top marks in exams.
The government official will be one of many thousands who will go into a trance and pierce their bodies with hooks and spears to honor Lord Murugan, the god of war and fertility, at his cave temple in the Malaysian capital next Thursday.
"I have five sons and I always wanted a daughter. No medicine could have helped me in this, so I turned to the god and put my faith in him. Now I must repay this miracle," Muthu said after he offered prayers at the Batu Caves shrine.
Malaysians are increasingly seeking spiritual aid from an assortment of gods and faith healers to solve personal problems in this mostly-Muslim but multi-religious Southeast Asia nation.
The Thaipusam festival, which originated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and was introduced to Malaysia in the 19th century by immigrant Indian workers, reflects a growing faith in the Hindu god's power to bless devotees with children and cure serious illnesses.
Thaipusam is no longer widely celebrated in India, but in Malaysia the festival has stretched beyond the ethnic Indian community.
In 2008, the government had to declare it a public holiday to give devotees time off to perform the thanksgiving rituals.
In preparation for the festival, Muthu fasts for 48 days and abstains from sex. On the day itself, he will shave his head, smear sandalwood all over his body and listen to priests chanting mantras until he falls into a trance, when his tongue will be pierced with an 18-centimeter spear.
Last year, over one million people of different ethnic backgrounds trekked up to Batu Caves temple to repay the god for granting requests such as bagging a new job and getting top marks in exams.
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