Thaipusam Homecoming

On the last day of Thaipusam, the chariot returns the 14 km to the temple in KL, pulled by a truck and accompanied by hundreds of followers. As it passes through each neighborhood, the local Hindu families come out and bring plates full of bananas, flowers, incense and other foods as an offering. Several men sit inside the chariot, and as each offering plate is passed up, they exchange a few items and pass it back. The families then take the plate home and eat the food for good luck. On each plate is also a pile of ash, which is rubbed onto the center of the forehead.

We only knew about this part of the festival because a restaurant owner told us the night before. The chariot leaves the caves around 4 p.m., moving VEEEERY slowly, and arrives back at the temple around 4 a.m. We didn't want to stay up that late, so we took a bus out to meet it along the route that evening.

And it was a beautiful sight to see; all lit up surrounded by people praying. Although it was lacking the dramatics of the scene at the Batu caves, I actually found this part just as enjoyable. Everyone was dressed in their traditional clothing and the air was filled with the most incredible fragrance of incense and flowers. Again, no one minded that we were there as observers; in fact, they were gracious and welcoming - thrilled that we wanted to experience it with them.

The chariot as it makes it's way back to KL.

A couple rubbing ash on their foreheadsFather and son, with matching freshly shaven heads.

I guess you can use anything for an offering plate...silver dish, colander, whatever!

A father and child pray as the chariot passes.

Parents also lifted their young children up to the chariot to be blessed. Most of the time, the kids were crying in confusion by the time they were lowered down, which reminded me of the trauma of going to see Santa when you were too young to understand who he was.

Another tradition for Thaipusam is the breaking of coconuts in the streets. Individuals or groups of people purchase big piles of coconuts, and as the chariot approaches they hurl them one by one onto the pavement, spraying coconut water all over anyone who happens to be nearby. I was told that it signifies the cleansing of sins, and that each coconut costs about 1 ringgit. Some people buy up to 500 coconuts, which would cost about $140.

I wasn't able to get any photos of the actual coconut breaking because I was too worried about getting the camera wet. But I did get this one - these are two Chinese ladies that lived in the neighborhood who came out to collect the broken coconuts, which were still totally usable as food. I thought that was a funny little example of cultural symbiosis - the Hindus break the coconuts and the Buddhists eat them.

Just as we started to try to figure out how the heck to get ourselves back to KL, a car passed us, and it turned out to be the family that we had met at the caves the first night. Coincidence? We hopped in, and they took us along to Mohen's parents' house for a short visit. Then Mohen asks us, "Do you want to come and see the transvestites dance?" OF COURSE! Turns out there is a "transvestite prostitute den" along the parade route, so once a year on homecoming day, about 20 transvestives dress up and dance in the streets before the chariot arrives. There were also some Indian drummers and what I've called Stick Dancers doing a traditional dance where they each hold 2 sticks and hit them together. Very cool! There was a huge crowd around them, but everyone readily let us up to the front because we were foreigners. One of the many benefits!

Stick dancers

Yes, this is a man.....pretty, isn't he?

Me with the transvestites. I don't know how I manage to look like such a dork in so many photos.

The girl in the pink is Darshini, the 15 year old daughter of the family. She was one of the most intelligent teenagers I've ever met - so comfortable speaking with us, even though I found out later that we were the first foreigners she had ever really spent time with. She was the leader when we pushed through the crowds to get a better look, and she was even brave enough to pose with the transvestites.

The city pays workers to clean up after the procession, and apparently the streets are spotless by the next morning. I wasn't able to find out what happens to all the coconuts.

It was by far one of the most memorable nights of my entire life! I feel so thankful that I was lucky enough to witness something like this in person.