[Talk] Thaipusam in Penang: Localisation and Beyond

[Talk] Thaipusam in Penang: Localisation and Beyond
by Dr. Carl Vadivella Belle

Details
Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Time: 3.30pm-5.00pm
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute
Moderator: Dr. Tan Lee Ooi
About the Speaker
Carl Vadivella Belle obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at the Australian National University, Canberra, specialising in History and Political Science. Between 1976 and 1979 he served in the Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur. He has maintained a long-term interest in Malaysian social, political and religious issues, especially Hinduism in Malaysia and the histories and traditions of Malaysian’s Indian community. His doctoral dissertation, “Thaipusam in Malaysia: A Hindu Festival Misunderstood?” was accepted by Deakin University in 2004. He has lectured extensively on both Malaysian politics and society and on South Indian Hindu traditions, as well as wider religious issues, and has published numerous papers on these topics. He has also contributed chapters to several publications. He has written several books and has contributed chapters to a number of other volumes. His work Tragic Orphans: Indians in Malaysia, was published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, in 2015, and constitutes a comprehensive general history of the modern Indian presence in Malaysia. A companion volume, Thaipusam in Malaysia: A Hindu Festival in the Tamil Diaspora, was published in 2017. Commencing in 1981, Dr Belle has been a regular participant in the Thaipusam festival and has borne kavadis at Batu Caves, Penang and Palani. He has acted as principal consultant to several television and radio productions focusing on the festival as it is practised in Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur.
Abstract
Thaipusam is a Saivite Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Tai (January-February) and dedicated to the worship of the deity Muruga, son of the supreme deity Siva. Muruga is held to be the god of spiritual disciplines, austerities and yogic powers. In modern India Muruga is closely identified with Dravidian and more specifically Tamil Hindu traditions. While the major Indian centre for the celebration of Thaipusam is the temple complex of Palani in Tamil Nadu, the festival is also a central feature of Hinduism in many locations within the Tamil diaspora. However, while the central components of Thaipusam – in particular a procession involving the utsavar murthi (festival image) of Lord Muruga and the bearing of ritualised burdens known as kavadis, are widely observed throughout the Tamil diaspora, there are also substantial variations in localised celebrations. This paper will focus on the festival in Penang, its place within the overarching context of Malaysian Hinduism, its significance as a cultural phenomenon in Penang, but also its position within the wider world of Tamil Hinduism.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Penang Institute, 10 Jalan Brown, George Town, Malaysia