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The Kavadee festival is the main festival of the Tamil Hindu community in Mauritius. Kavadee comes from the word to carry, marking the sacrifice of carrying the "kavadee," a large, decorative, wooden replica of a temple or deity. Devotees, who have been fasting for ten days, begin by gathering at a local river, bathing in the water to cleanse themselves of impurities. |
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Each extended family participating in the festival procession prepares a kavadee at home, bringing it to the river for last minute preparations and blessings. |
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The kavadees vary in size, shape, and style. |
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This kavadee is a more traditional kavadee decorated with flowers and picturing Lord Murgan. |
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This kavadee is a more contemporary style, using the symbol of the Vel (the gold piece on top) to represent Lord Murgan. |
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Families group together with members of their temple along the banks of the river, performing small pujas to Lord Murgan, who is pictured somewhere on the kavadee. |
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The priest of each temple visits the kavadee of each participating family, offering blessings and registering them for the procession. |
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One of the most striking parts of the Kavadee festival is the body piercing that many devotees choose to undertake. This ancient ritual is another form of sacrifice offered to Lord Murgan. |
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Devotees choose to pierce themselves and carry the heavy kavadee as a form of devotion, sacrifice, and demonstration of committment to their faith. |
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Many devotees participate every year, while others may participate if they have a family member that is sick and in need of blessing, or if they have a special prayer they want answered. |
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Many female devotees, carry large metal jars filled with milk on their heads. This milk is later poured over the image of Lord Murgan at the temple. |
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All devotees participating in the festival wear pink or orange, which are symbolic colors of the sacred. |
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The atmosphere at the river bank is festive, with live music. |
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Kavadee is such an important national holiday that it warrants a visit from the Prime Minister of the country and several government officials (all non Tamils). |
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Each temple group prepares to leave the river bank in a procession through the streets to the temple. Each part of the procession is led by a group of traditional musicians. |
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The family member carrying the kavadee is encouraged on by the prayers and chanting of the rest of the family, as they all walk in the procession. |
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Some devotees choose to pull a large kavadee on wheels rather than carrying one on their shoulders. The cart is attached to the devotee's body with hooks into the skin. |
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Other devotees perform other forms of self sacrifice, for example, walking on shoes made of nails or fixing limes and lemons to their bodies using hooks. Devotees often enter into trances and find the strength to continue their sacrifice thanks to the devotional music and the chants and prayers of their families. |
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When the procession arrives at the temple, the devotees are greeted by a large group. The procession wraps around the temple and enters through the front door. The devotees put down their kavadees and remove their piercings, before participating in a prayer service. |
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The evening following the festival, the image of Lord Murgan created by the temple for the prayer service is removed from the temple, and the flag signifying the festival period is taken down. |
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The Kavadee festival is a public holiday in Mauritius and Mauritians of many backgrounds come out to observe the procession or pour water on the hot road to ease the suffering of the barefoot devotees. The festival is the hallmark of Tamil identity in Mauritius, and has been preserved with integritiy since the arrival of Tamil Hindus in Mauritius in the 1830s. Unlike in India, this festival is embraced and practiced by the educated urban elite along with local villagers. |
