Kavadi festival brightens up Victoria |01 February 2018

The streets of Victoria were vibrant yesterday as the Hindu community staged their annual Thaipoosam Kavadi procession.

Organised by the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam (SHKS), the event commemorates Thaipoosam Day which is attributed to Lord Muruga, the Warrior deity of the hills.

The ceremony, which started at the Seychelles Hindu Temple on Quincy Street, sailed through Revolution Avenue, Harrison Street, Lodge Street and back to the temple. The procession was accompanied throughout by traditional music, dance and various other performances in the street.

Some of the Kavadi carrying males had their cheeks, tongue, arms and back pierced by steel and silver shrapnels as a form of penance for the deity. While Indian ladies dressed in colourful Indian outfits carried pots of milk on top of their heads.

The concept of carrying milk in small pots during the Kavadi procession is to finally offer all the milk to anoint Lord Murugan and to pray for his blessings. Men and women follow stringent fasting at least three days prior to participation with all devotion and piety.

Kavadi is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War. It is a central part of the festival of Thaipoosam and emphasises 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.  Devotees parade and dance along a pilgrimage route while bearing these burdens.

Another colourful attraction for this year was the Peacock & Karakattam Folk Dance Troupe from India which performed folk dances in the procession, an event put together by the Indian high commission of Seychelles.

“The Kavadi is a festival for every Indians but mainly Hindus. It is celebrated in several countries all over the world,” said a lady participant while carrying her pot of milk through the streets.

Naganathan Chetty, vice-chairman of SHKS, said this year they re-included the chariot procession which had not been done for the past two years.

“Then there is a special programme with performances by folk dance troupe from South India,” he said.

As for the milk being carried by the ladies, Mr Chetty said they are later used in the Sangabishegam ceremony to Lord Murugan.

“We got the cooperation of drivers though there are discontents which were expected. But today the procession has proceeded very quickly hence less inconvenience,” said Superintendent Antoine Desnousse, in charge of traffic.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the event.