its awesome to see up close and personal, but ... its also scary and a little bit painful. i had been wanting to see this event for a long time but never had the opportunity, this time i covered it for work.
its something that i cannot imagine to happen if i was not there too see with my very own eyes, i might remain a skeptic forever. in the mortification of the flesh, the devotee slip into a trance and was pierce by hooks and skewers, but feel no pain , no blood spilling and after will leaves no scars.
during the piercings the crowds chants 'veel' over and over again accompanied by enthusiastic beatings of the drums, which i was told to give spirit to the devotee. not only the vel kavadi devotee goes into a trance but it might also affect the supporter. as i was standing in the perfect position to take my photo, the lady beside me fell into a trance and started to scream hysterically, and it changed her. her voice and attitude became aggressive and sharper at times and whispery otherwise. it shocked me. at one point, she grabbed a handful of leaves and started chewing and swallowing them. not satisfied with that, she also shoved a handful into the devotee mouth.
i guess it was a hot day, but at that time i felt only the excitement of the crowd my heart felt like it was gonna jump out. as i sit here writing this, i felt hot and cold shivers all over my body. i guess i was affected too and i have to admit its somewhat painful to watch.
4 comments:
I can never watch the piercings on Thaipusam, so being up close and personal would be totally out of the question! But I will watch 'Saw 1-4' anytime, because it is hollywood .. not real life! :) Nice pixs tho' trying really hard her not to sound morbid hehehe ..
nya~ha~ha!
yeah, cilla also can't stand the morbid. for a goth gal, i'm sure am a scaredy cat! ehehe.
it grossly fantastic aint it? A devotee/friend in the office said she had to go thru a "purification" for a few months or was it a month? Abstinence from sex....turn vegan , thats sort of thing otherwise ..those piercings would hoit!!
yes, i wiki the it b4 goin so i knew wut 2 3xpect but still, its kinda strange no matter cos even me whos pretty serious wen it comes to my work can't stop myself fr getting affected by the drumbeat and the chantings. i was even chanting along wid dem (in hushed tones) and in my heart. even yahya was chanting along. i guess i din want him to feel pain so i was givin him some of 'chi'. heh heh. i guess i gave a little too much cos the minute the drun stopped, i felt some strange burden on me. i ache all over. yahya too said the same thing. curios huh?
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