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{{Short description|Hindu ceremonial sacrifice and offering}}{{Hinduism}}
{{Kaumaram}}
'''Kavadi Aattam''' ({{Langx|ta|காவடி ஆட்டம்|translit=burden dance}}) is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of [[Kartikeya|Murugan]], the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god of war.<ref name="Divinity and Diversity">{{cite book|author=Kent, Alexandra|title=Divinity and Diversity: A Hindu Revitalization Movement in Malaysia|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|year=2005|isbn=8791114896}}</ref> It is a central part of the festival of [[Thaipusam]] and emphasizes debt bondage. The ''Kavadi'' ("burden") itself is a physical burden, the bearing of which is used by the devotee to implore [[Murugan]] for assistance, usually on behalf of a loved one who is in need of healing, or as a means of balancing a spiritual debt.<ref name="Hume">Hume, Lynne. ''Portals''.</ref> Devotees process and dance along a pilgrimage route while bearing these burdens.

==History==
In [[Tamil mythology]], [[Shiva]] is said to have entrusted the sage [[Agastya]] with two hillocks, the Shivagiri hill, and the Shaktigiri hill, with instructions to carry and install them in [[South India]]. The sage left them in a forest and later tasked his disciple [[Idumban]] to get them. Idumban put the hillocks down to rest awhile near the present day town of [[Palani]], [[Tamil Nadu]] but could not lift them back. Idumban had a scuffle with a youth who claimed ownership of the hillocks and in the ensuing scuffle, Idumban was defeated. Idumban then realised that the youth was the Hindu God [[Murugan]] and prayed for his help.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Alexandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ateYBgAAQBAJ&dq=idumban+murugan&pg=PA170 |title=Divinity and Diversity: A Hindu Revitalization Movement in Malaysia |date=2007 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=9789812307408 |pages=170 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Palani Murugan Temple]] stands atop a hill at the location.

Murugan had previously been outwitted in a contest for going round the world where his brother [[Ganesha|Vinayakar]] won the ''[[Jnana Palam|jñāna paḻam]]'', the fruit of wisdom. In anger and frustration, he left [[Mount Kailash]] and came down to [[Palani|Tiru Avinankudi]], the foot of the Sivagiri Hill. His divine parents [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]] tried to pacify him but Murugan withdrew to the hill and settled there as a recluse in peace and solitude.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Belle |first=Carl Vadivella |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kB1qDwAAQBAJ&dq=murugan+fruit+of+knowledge&pg=PT336 |title=Thaipusam in Malaysia |date=2018-02-14 |publisher=Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. |isbn=978-981-4786-66-9 |pages=336 |language=en}}</ref>

Idumban prayed to Murugan that whoever carried on the ''kavadi'' on their shoulders signifying the two hills and visited the temple on a vow should be blessed and that he be given the privilege of standing sentinel at the entrance to the hill. This custom of ''kavadi aattam'' has spread from Palani to other Murugan shrines worldwide.

==Practice==
[[File:Kavadi dancer 6039398.jpg|thumb|left|A pilgrim carrying Kavadi]]

The preparations start 48 days before the two-day [[Thaipusam]] festival. The devotees purge themselves of all mental and physical impurities. They take only one vegetarian meal per day and 24 hours before [[Thaipusam]], they must maintain a complete fast.<ref name="Hume"/> The devotees prepare themselves by following strict purification austerities that include transcendence of desire, shaving of the head, following a vegetarian diet and refraining from alcohol, sexual abstinence, bathing daily in cold water, sleeping on the floor and constant prayer.<ref name="Divinity and Diversity"/>

On the day of the festival, devotees undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of ''kavadi'' (burdens). A ''kavadi'' consists of two semicircular pieces of wood or steel which are bent and attached to a cross structure that can be balanced on the shoulders of the devotee. It is often decorated with flowers and peacock feathers (the mount of Murugan) among other things. Some of the ''kavadi'' can weigh up to 30 kg.<ref name="Hume"/>

At its simplest, a kavadi may entail carrying a pot of [[milk]] (''pal kavadi''), but piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. The most spectacular practice is the ''vel kavadi'', essentially a portable altar up to two meters tall, decorated with peacock feathers and attached to the devotee through multiple [[vel]]s pierced into the skin on the chest and back. Fire walking and [[flagellation]] may also be practiced. It is claimed that devotees are able to enter a [[altered state of consciousness|trance]] to overcome pain.<ref name="Hume"/>

==Locations==
[[Thaipusam]] is celebrated by the [[Tamils]], and in some [[Telugu people|Telugu]] people near [[Tamilnadu]] and Malyalees of Kerala in [[India]] and other countries like [[Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysia]], [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Singapore]], [[Canada]], [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[South Africa]] and [[Indonesia]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 February 2020|title=Thaipusam 2020|url=https://www.albertamurugan.org/thaipusam/thaipusam-2020/|access-date=10 August 2022|website=Sri Murugan Society Alberta|language=en-US|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818003609/https://www.albertamurugan.org/thaipusam/thaipusam-2020/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=V |first=Nirupama |date=5 February 2019 |title=Concord Temple Yatra: Unique Feat |url=https://indiacurrents.com/concord-temple-yatra-unique-feat/ |access-date=10 August 2022|website=Best Indian American Magazine, San Jose |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 January 2022|title=Temple committee: Over 1,000 volunteers to assist Batu Caves temple ensure SOP compliance during Thaipusam |url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/01/13/temple-committee-over-1000-volunteers-to-assist-batu-caves-temple-ensure-so/2034948 |access-date=10 August 2022|website=Malay Mail |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Batu Caves]]
* [[Kanwar Yatra]]
* [[Yajna]]
* [[Nagarathar Kavadi]]
*[[Edappadi]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130111092258/http://www.tamilnadu-tourism.com/tamilnadu-festivals/kavadi-festival.html Kavadi festival]}}

[[Category:Objects used in Hindu worship]]
[[Category:Rituals in Hindu worship]]
[[Category:Yajna]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Kaumaram]]
[[Category:Tamil mythology]]

Kavadi Aattam - Revision history

Sera at 15:15, 12 September 2025