|
During the yearly festival of the Gummersbach temple three deities in three different carts are taken out in procession. As this town is situated in a mountainous region private cars are used to help pull the carts uphill. (August 2003) |
|
Children tired of walking enjoy the ride on one of the carts of the Gummersbach procession. The chosen route is quite long and the whole tour lasts more than three hours. (August 2003) |
|
Although the Gummersbach procession takes place on quiet Sunday afternoons, many local people show a keen interest in the religious activities of their Tamil fellow citizens. (August 2003). |
|
Musicians with traditional South Asian instruments walking in front of the processional carts announcing the coming of the deity. They also provide the rhythm and sound for the so-called kavati dancers. Such musician are a common feature of all Hindu Tamil processions. (Berlin 2003). |
|
These men have vowed to accompany the procession dancing along with a wooden structure (kavati) on their shoulders the entire way. The kavatis are embellished with flowers and peacock feathers. The latter are in honour of God Murukan whose mount is said to be the peacock. (Gummersbach 2003) |
|
This kavati dancer had made a special additional vow to have his face pierced. The small lance pushed through the corners of his mouth has the shape of God Murukan's main weapon. Kavati bearers with or without pierced body parts are a common sight in many Sri Lankan and South Indian Murukan shrines. (Berlin 2003) |
|
A father with his young son ready to join the procession with a small kavati. Parents desiring a son often vow to have them carry a kavati as soon as they are able to do so. Both father and son are dressed in a sarong, called vestti, the appropriate male garment for religious occasions. They walk barefoot, as befits a Hindu devotee in the presence of his gods. |
|
Great significance is attached to the presence of children in the religious performances of Hindu Tamils in Germany. It is often said that it is mainly because of them that the traditional beliefs and practises are continued in the diaspora setting. Here a father and his children visit the shrine of God Murukan in Gummersbach before joining the procession. |
|
These men have vowed to do the complete route rolling on the ground behind the cart. This strenuous form of self-castigation was practised for the first time during the temple festival of the goddess Kamakshi in Hamm in the early 1990s. Rolling men can be found participating in processions in a number of places, but the Kamakshi temple, now situated in the industrial area of Hamm, still attracts most of them. (Hamm-Uentrop, June 2002) |
