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Thaipusam
Devotees of Murugan in yellow and orange, carrying kavadi frames dressed with peacock feathers and pots of white milk.
The colours of Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a Tamil festival for the god Murugan, kept at the full moon of the month of Thai. At Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, in Singapore, in Palani in Tamil Nadu and in Mauritius, long lines of devotees walk to the temple to fulfil vows. Most wear yellow or orange, the colours associated with Murugan and with turmeric, and many shave their heads and smear them with pale yellow sandalwood paste. They carry brass pots of milk as an offering, or a kavadi, a wooden or steel arch carried on the shoulders and decorated with peacock feathers, since the peacock is the god's mount. The great gold statue of Murugan at Batu Caves stands over the crowd.
#F5B800Vow yellowClothes of devotees; the colour linked to Murugan.#F27B13Kavadi orangeCloth and flowers on the carried frames.#0F7C82Peacock blue-greenFeathers of the god’s mount on every kavadi.#FCFBF4Milk whiteThe offering carried in brass pots.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Thaipusam" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.