Largest Thaipusam festival

The Thaipusam Hindu festival, widely celebrated by the Tamils, honours Subrahmanya - aka Murugan - the son of Siva and Parvati, who defeated a demon with a vel (spear). Devotees balance kavadi (burdens of rice milk to be offered to Murugan) on their heads, and practice mortification of the press by impaling their cheeks with skewers; the two can be combined with the vel kavadi, a portable altar carrying kavadi attached to the body via hooks in the skin on the face, back and chest. The largest of the festivals starts at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where up to one million devotees - and thousands of tourists - proceed on an 8-hour trek and up 272 steps to a temple in the Batu Caves 15 km (9 miles) away. In 2007, an estimated 1.3 million people celebrated Thaipusam at the Batu Caves. Thaipusam celebrations also take place in Singapore and Mauritius. with vel piercings, the more extreme the pain endured, the more merit is earned with Murugan. Firewalking and flagellation are also practiced.