He walked bare-footed for 4km (more than 2 hours) carrying a heavy metal kavadi. His body pierced with sharp metal spikes. At the end of his journey, summoning every ounce of his energy, he danced with abandonment for a couple of minutes before his God.
Metal spikes pierced into his flesh were dismantled
The diameter of the metal spear is around 0.8cm.
Several twists, and to loud prayers, the spear was pulled out.
No blood was found on the spear. Quietly he mashed a pot of bananas .... 
which was distributed to each member of his entourage.An amazing feat by a thankful and courageous man.
Wordless Wednesday
59 comments:
OUCH!
To say that he has a very high tolerance for pain would be an understatement. He's a pain lover for sure. :)
These acts will definitely be painful.. or more accurately said, very very painful.
I believe the man feels no pain cos he has trained his mind to take the pain.
Mind is more mightier than body, that is how some people can achieve so much in life despites being at a disadvantaged position!
I'm speechless and rather go out rolling naked around in the snow :-)
Hi ECL, I would like to see it with my own TWO eyes! Hopefully I'll still be in SG next year to witness this. Simply amazing.
BTW,, thanks for adding me to your list. :-) Angie
Monica,
I couldn't even say that word!
Strider,
I don't think he's a pain lover. This unassuming man did it for love - his religion and his loved ones.
sgshortstories,
I was following closely and I couldn't see any fear or pain on his face.
If he is my loved one, I would feel heartache. His family members and friends too, but they chose to give him all their support. Very touching.
Renny,
Ouch! Rolling in the snow naked would be a torture for me. haha....
Angie R,
You will have that opportunity. :)
Happy V-Day!
Wow! He is so focussed! I'm sure it takes a lot of training to be able to do this... and to honour his God. Great photo story.
Okay I admit it!! I only glanced through very quickly after the first one!!
Ouchhhhhhhh ECL......it hurts to look!!!!:-)
There are no words. I cannot believe he doesn't feel the pain. Wow!
I have nothing to say that can possibly do justice to what you've shared with us. I pray that he gets what he needs from doing this.
It was amazing indeed. You must have stayed up beyond 2 a.m. to catch this on 8 Feb 2009? Or did you take the photos in the night of 8 Feb 2009?
Hi ECL,
The amazing thing is that there was no blood! How was that possible without divine intervention? I have always been frightened and amazed by this ritual when I was living in Singapore...
So painful to me !! Ouccchhh :(
I thought U might be the usual super woman u r and put on a kavadi yourself to surprise us! sigh. haha.
I was really astounded when I was walking around the plain where they were preparing themselves.
I have posted some pictures of what I have seen and I have mentioned your post about it too.
P.S, ECL - a favor can you add MommaWannabe http://www.mommawannabe.com to to your Valentine's list.Btw - didn't know that there's a Chinese Valentine's Day ;)
Ohh and thanks alot for adding mey expat blog:)
Hmmm...another interesting writeup about the Thaipusam festival. Thanks for sharing with us. :)
omg, the 4th photo makes me cringe. the devotee in the first photo has supernatural powers!
Holy crap! Yikes! Great shots! Happy WW!
But it just looks extremely painful to me. Ouch!
wow.. i hope that was not voluntary and monetary means were handed over
Nice to see your site again, You always have something interesting. Pretty amazing. I'm not even going to speculate about his frame of mind where pain is concerned. Devotion Absolutely. I think it has to do with focus. There are so many distractions in the world that sometimes it just takes something immense to stay centered in the instant for a spell and experience the divine by whatever method.
Happy WW
Nice to see your site again, You always have something interesting. Pretty amazing. I'm not even going to speculate about his frame of mind where pain is concerned. Devotion Absolutely. I think it has to do with focus. There are so many distractions in the world that sometimes it just takes something immense to stay centered in the instant for a spell and experience the divine by whatever method.
Happy WW
The pain!! Its hurts just to look
Oh My God! If I want to change my career path I that's one road I don't want to go down! Happy WW
*wordless* + *jaws.drop.opened*
really amazing!
such power over pain!
Above my understanding, lol !
*Salutes* I couldn't have done that myself XD
That is simply amazing. What a privledge to witness such an event! Happy WW!
thanks for sharing this. we dont experience this in Sibu. If u r in the region, i will b glad to play host :)
Ouch! These guys are really amazing!
Yiiiah! I can't look!
I'll take my chances with the water snakes!
Some says, there are a genie in their body.
the preparation prior to doing the feat and the support by the family members show how strong and true his love and belief are.
My God ... I feel the pain just by seeing the photos.
Hi ECL,
This story is so spine chilling whew :) hope your valentines is just as special but in a good way hehehe :)
Oh my! I had to close my eyes! I feel goosebumps all over.
the pain must be excruciating indeed.
Ohhhh, my!!! OUCH!
My WW ~ The Silly Girl
Wow, impressive.
I´ve only seen it on TV and it amazes me. They don´t bleed!
Good Wednesday.
Wow. That's amazing.
WOW... um... that is a bit much to be putting through your face...
Great capture.
Double ouch! I don understand this la, as in how can they not feel the pain? YIKES!
I mean I know there's a ritual to follow and preparation before all the poking but still, it's amazing! :)
Yahoo 50th comment here comes from Mariuca woot! Pleasant night ECL. :):):)
Yet another tradition I hadn't heard of! You always inform us of new things!
Have a great day and stop by if you have time.
That is awesome and reminds me of some of the great saints in the Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox churches. Very similar, they would pierce themselves to be like Christ and understand Him.
Awesome photos, thank you for reminding me of first principles today. :) We ask very little of ourselves, don't we, and we expect so much.
Feline Urgent Rescue
Pain? I don't think that is a suitable word to describe the experience. I can't imagine what they are going through. The closest experience I had, which is not even near to this, was walking through burning coals.
Wow. That is pretty amazing. I can't even imagine how they are able to do it.
I've never figured out how did they manage to do that without losing a single drop of blood.
Hmm...
faith does wonders! respect indeed.
I understand they are under trance while doing this. The power of the spirit might have made the pain bearable.
sorry ECL, here's the correct link http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/2007/02/add-page-element-to-blogger-header-and.html
Thank you for giving festivities like this a showcase boost. Indian or Chinese or Malay or Eurasian celebrations are all part of S'pore's heritage we have to keep alive. I left S'pore over 20 years ago but I shudder when I'm told about the changes going on faster than the speed of light!Cultural festivities like Thaipusam or Wayangs etc are our only national roots left to show our kids where we've come from.I thouroughly enjoyed reading this and admiring the pictures!
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