January 2014

Since the last monthly blog before Christmas we have had quite a busy time with guests in the house. Over Christmas we had a very nice German family. Patrick, the son was working in Penang at Bosch and his parents and girlfriend wanted to see some of Penang. They were very nice guests and were energetic in their exploration. The parents went to KL by bus and spent a couple of nights there. The whole family left on New Years day for 5 days in Langkawi before they returned to Germany….minus Patrick. Soon after we had four Singaporeans stay for 4 nights. They were out mostly so we did not see a lot of them. For Chinese NewYear we have had the same family from KL as we had last year. We very much enjoyed their visit as we did before. Again as soon as they left we had another four guests for 4 nights.

We had a number of plants on the third level and had a tubular irrigation system on a timer to keep them watered. We have had problems with the time and the plants were not in their prime. With the additional roof on the floor it has changed a number of thing and makes it very pleasant to sit outside and appreciate the flowers and the birds. I particularly wanted to attract in the sunbirds that have been regular visitors and plants were procured that should be good attractants. The irrigation is now regular and the plants are flourishing and the sunbirds seem to appreciate the environment. We even have a couple of pitcher plants.

Earlier one of the trees at the front of the section was fruiting and attracted 20-30 Asian Glossy Starlings and a bunch of Yellow-vented Bulbuls.

Helen keeps busy with her students learning English. At least once a week she announces that she has another potential student. Currently she has 8 students and thinks that is a comfortable number. She is also busy with her IWA commitments.

Nikki has recovered from a bout of kidney stones in Okinawa and continues to work there for the duration of her summer holidays. Jack has been in Spain with Dani and after a spell in England Dani is back at her job in Spain.

The photography season has started and one species of Bee-eater has arrived for nesting duties. There seems there is not so many this year but they are in good condition before they start their underground digging. There are also several Kingfishers in the area and it appears they have been refurbishing their nest holes judging by the loose soil under the entrances. I have also been to a few other local sites but nothing too different so far.

I have completed the first draft of my Nature Photography book and await the next, and possibly most difficult phase.

I had a set-up for high speed flash work that is used for hummingbirds. I am trying to adapt it to local conditions and birds. The problem with tropical regions is that food is generally available somewhere and the threat of oncoming cold spells does not exist……so they are not deperate for human supplied food as an attractant.

When the Bee-eaters and the Kingfishers were not performing the cuckoos stepped in. There were appearances by several Greater Coucals and an unusual display by a pair of Green-billed Malkoha. Both species are large non-parasitic cuckoos but are hard to get a clean image due to their skulking in vegetation. 

My second favourite birding place at Byram has been messed up to a substantial degree. Someone spent a lot of money building a concrete path around the ponds and a green link fence is a good lens excluder. Nearby there is a mangrove estuary where it is still fun to sit and watch the sunrise and watch the kingfishers catch their food, the macaques patrol the river banks, the fishermen cast their nets, the otters slink across the muddy banks and the Crested Serpent Eagle to make his plaintive call from the treetops.

The other time-consuming event has been the World Indoor Bowls tournament that I can get via the net. There has been a couple of really fantastic performances and I like to read the tactics. In case you still think it is old man's marbles, the winner of the Women's title is 18.

Thaipusam (January 17th 2014)

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai (January/February). It is observed where there is a significant number of Tamils; India, Malaysia, Mauritius and Singapore. In Malaysia, where it is a public holiday, the two centres for celebration are Kuala Lumpur and Penang. 

The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star. Pusam. The particular star is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel (spear) to vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. Murugan is the embodiment of Shiva’s light and wisdom and devotees pray to him to overcome obstacles they face, or have overcome.

In Penang Thaipusam is celebrated at Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple (Hilltop Temple) along Jalan Waterfall (about 2 miles from our house). On the eve of Thaipusam, a silver chariot with the statue of Lord Murugan is led on a procession accompanied by Chettiar kavadi or devotees carrying peacock feathers. The 15-hour journey culminates around midnight. Coconuts are smashed on the roads before the chariot to symbolize the shattering of one’s ego in the pursuit of self-realization. In addition, devotees also make offerings of fruit, flowers and incense to the Lord Muruga in the Silver Chariot. Priests on the chariot receive the offering………. and a front-end loader from the council follows behind picking up the broken coconuts.

On Thaipusam Day, devotees undertake the pilgrimage from the Lorong Kulit temple to the Waterfall temple. We started our journey at 7am and caught a bus to the nearest point of the procession route. The procession route is along Western and Gottlieb Road and these roads are lined with over 100 colourfully decorated stalls. Some of the statues of deities are very colourful and elaborate and even the road is painted with Hindu religious symbols in places. The stalls sell traditional Indian foods, souvenirs, decorative items and snacks and refreshments. Thunderously loud music that shakes the ground, singing, dancing and the beating of drums….. aurally and optically decorates the senses. Everyone is dressed in his or her best and the young take it in their stride. The day was hot and sunny throughout.

The other important element of Thaipusam is the kavadi.  The kavadi is a physical burden through which the devotees implore the God Murugan to help them overcome an earthly obstacle. For instance if a couple cannot conceive a child they may guarantee to undertake some burden during Thaipusam if the wife gives birth.

Devotees prepare for the celebration through prayer and fasting for approximately 48 days before Thaipusam. The kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy and eats only pure, Satvik food once a day while continuously thinking of God.

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their head (often at the end of the parade) and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). The simplest kavadi entails carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is common.  The small spear through the cheeks reminds the bearer constantly of Lord Murugan and also prevents speaking and gives great powers of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or drawing a decorated bullock cart. The points of incisions of the hooks vary the level of pain.

In the images below each of the little pots is filled with milk and attached to the skin with a hook. Some devotees carried limes on hooks.

It was apparent that devotees that passed us had a combination of kavadis. I saw one woman with a skewer through her cheeks but the fairer sex generally carried milk pots on their heads. One gentleman was shuffling along with what looked like concrete clogs on his feet. On closer inspection these were revealed to be wooden-based and covered with upturned nails.

The more flamboyant kavadis were a work of art themselves. The devotees, who were already variously pierced, supported the more flamboyant kavadis by waist and shoulder harnesses and yokes.

A support crew was vital to the kavadi carriers to give moral or physical support. Some carried plastic stools for their devotee to rest on if necessary. The participants with pierced tongues had to have water literally dropped into their mouths. Some support crews consisted of a travelling percussion group.

Despite the weight of their burden and the pain of the piercings the ornate kavadi carriers had time and energy to dance to the throbbing Indian music.

After watching various devotees going past we made our way down to the piercing area, which was held in an empty lot across the road from the starting temple. The area was crowded as young men were prepared for their journey. Some were already unsteady on their feet and relatives looked on anxiously. The old hands looked on knowingly as they had seen it many times before. Piercings had begun in the early morning and there were many more to be done at midday.

The route from the Lorong Kulit temple to the Waterfall temple is approximately four miles. The latter temple is on a hillside and has 500 steps, which further tests the endurance of the kavadi carriers. In the temple they have the skewers and hooks removed and the milk carried in the many pots washes the statue and the nearby stream flows white.

The next day the silver chariot with Lord Muruga makes a return trip to Kovil Veedu along Penang Street. The return trip starts at 6pm and ends at dawn the following morning.

Not all of the devotees are ethnic Indians as there are increasing numbers of Chinese undertaking the ritual.

A Dutch woman in our group had seen Thaipusam celebrations in India, where they are apparently restricted currently, and stated that the Penang festival was not as colourful. If that was the case my camera would suffer from chromatic exhaustion should I ever photograph the Indian version.

For a better view of the images go to the Thaipusam 2014 site on my website here. It is not a public page currently. The images are in approximately in the same order.