Impressions from the Thaipusam procession in Singapore

by Flo · Published January 26, 2016 · Updated February 6, 2024

This past weekend the Hindu festival of Thaipusam was celebrated in Singapore (as a matter of fact, everywhere with a sizable Tamil population). I had missed it last year and wanted to make sure to get a glimpse at it this time.

I won’t go into much detail regarding the purpose and origin of the festival. If you are interested, you are best off reading the Wikipedia article about it. But basically devotees pray to god Murugan to help them overcome obstacles they face in life. An old tradition, that may seem unique to people not accustomed to it, is that of piercing one’s body for the procession as the photos below show.

The mood was very festive and I was told that for the first time in several decades, live music was allowed by the government. The sun was out without a single cloud in the sky, meaning it was very hot already in the morning hours. While I just saw a fraction of the 4km procession from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, I was glad I went to see it.