This nationwide festival draws over a million devotees, with Ipoh’s Kallumalai Sri Subramaniyar Temple one of Malaysia’s key Thaipusam sites outside Batu Caves. Here, the grand kavadis take centre stage as the festival’s main spectacle.
FMT Lifestyle spoke to Dr Sasitharan Moorthi, assistant secretary of Kallumalai Sri Subramaniyar Temple, about these kavadis.
“I can proudly say that the people of Ipoh are the ones who invented the light kavadi. You can see around 100-200 light kavadis with different designs. That’s the unique part about Thaipusam in Ipoh,” Sasitharan said.
The tradition of kavadis, which literally translates to “carrying weight on your shoulder”, is said to have begun with a Hindu legend. Now, it remains a sacred ritual for those seeking Lord Murugan’s blessings.
FMT Lifestyle was in Buntong, Ipoh to meet renowned kavadi maker Sivabalan Doraisamy, nephew of the man who invented the polystyrene kavadi here.
Sivabalan said that his uncle, the late Rathakrishnan Muniappan, carried his first kavadi for Thaipusam in 1966, but it wasn’t until a few years later that he began to create kavadis himself using waste materials.
“My uncle was a Murugan devotee since childhood. Back in the day, the old kavadis were made of bamboo, but when he was working in Telekom, he noticed the polystyrene in packaging and wondered if it could be repurposed. That’s how the polystyrene kavadi came to be.”
Sivabalan, 41, who had been watching his uncle craft kavadis since he was seven years old, took up the mantle after his uncle’s passing in 2019.
“There was no one else in my family to continue this craft after his passing. Since he was the first one to create the polystyrene and light kavadis, I wanted at least one kavadi to take to the streets every Thaipusam in his name,” he said.
The process of creating these gigantic structures takes almost one month. It starts with designing unique patterns, then carving, painting, embellishing, wiring, and bringing the kavadi to life with LED lighting.
The team of around 10, all former kavadi carriers who are passionate about this art form, includes Moses Gregory, a Christian who crafted his first kavadi at age 17.
“First, I learnt what Thaipusam is all about. Even though I am a Christian, I learnt all the Hindu rituals and prayers by talking to the priests. Just as I go to church, I make it a point to go to the temple every Friday.”
Last year, Gregory’s polystyrene white peacock kavadi became the talk of Ipoh. “For us, just like the statue, we see the kavadi as Lord Murugan. We decorate the statue, and similarly, we decorate the kavadi, bringing our creativity to it.”
Sivabalan explained that despite the physical pain, devotees don’t only carry the kavadi – they dance along the way in celebration of Lord Murugan. “Only when you dance can you see the beauty of the kavadi as it bounces, and rotates.”
Days before Thaipusam, prayers are held for the statues placed inside each kavadi, seeking blessings for a safe and successful procession.
“Even the day before we begin making the kavadis, we take our tools and perform prayers at the temple,” revealed Sivabalan. The kavadi makers also observe a vegetarian diet until the end of Thaipusam.
Sivabalan’s creations are sought after nationwide, and just days before Thaipusam, he transported one kavadi from Ipoh to Batu Caves.
There are various types of kavadi, and this one – the Vette Mulle – involved piercing the devotee’s body with hooks tied to ropes, which were then dragged by the devotee as he pulled the chariot.
Sivabalan’s majestic kavadi stood out, lighting up the streets and uplifting the devotee’s spirit as he ascended the stairs to seek Lord Murugan’s blessings.
This Thaipusam, let the kavadis serve as a reminder that the true spirit of the festival lies in devotion, community, and tradition coming together in sacred celebration.
Kavadi maker Sivabalan Doraisamy can be contacted at 014-601 5653.