Hindu ceremonial sacrifice and offering
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Kavadi Aattam (Tamil: காவடி ஆட்டம், romanized: burden dance) is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of Murugan, the Hindu god of war.[1] 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.[2] Devotees process and dance along a pilgrimage route while bearing these burdens.
- ^ Kent, Alexandra (2005). Divinity and Diversity: A Hindu Revitalization Movement in Malaysia. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 8791114896.
- ^ Hume, Lynne. Portals.