Though Singapore seems like any modern, prosperous city with its skyscrapers and high standards of living, the ancient traditions and customs of the three dominant ethnic communities- Chinese, Indian, and Malay- are still practiced with great passion. One of the most remarkable festivals is the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. A word of warning, though:this festival is not for the faint of heart.

Celebrated during the full moon in the month of Thai- mid- January to mid-February in the Western calendar- Thaipusam is held in honor of Lord Subrahmanya, the Hindu god of war and victory. Devotees pay respects to him by parading from one temple to another, carrying offerings of milk and flowers for the god. While this may not sound so bad, some devotees show their devotion through more extreme methods.

After putting themselves into a trance by chanting and meditating, they wound their own bodies, driving steel rods through one cheek and out the other or attaching hooks to their backs, legs, tongues, or other body parts. They then use these hooks to drag around decorated weights, declaring their devotion to their deity while spectators and supporters play drums and sing religious chants to keep up morale. Some even carry around portable altars called kavadis , which are attached to their skin by more than a hundred spikes. The devotees claim that Lord Subrahmanya protects them during these rites and ensures that little damage is done to his subjects.

Devotees prepare for these feats a month in advance and spend a great deal of time starving themselves, praying, and meditating in order to make themselves spiritually strong enough to undergo the ordeal. Afterward, these people are considered to have encountered the deity through their acts of self-punishment, and thus receive favorable treatment from the community for the rest of the year.

Though this kind of spiritual devotion can seem extreme to most people, it is one of the most important religious rites of the Indian community in Singapore, and witnessing it enables an outsider to view something that is very sacred to these people.

雖然新加坡看似現代化的繁華都市，摩天大樓林立且生活水準高，不過華人、印度人與馬來人此三大族群奉行的古老傳統和習俗，仍於新加坡大行其道。最受人矚目的節慶之一，就是印度大寶森節。不過話先說在前頭，心臟不夠強健的人，可別輕易觀禮。

大寶森節於泰月（西曆的一月中旬至二月中旬）滿月的時候舉辦慶典，目的在於向攻無不克的印度戰神沙巴馬尼亞致敬。信徒帶著牛奶鮮花等祭品，以繞境遊行的方式獻上敬意。雖然聽起來還不賴，但某些信徒會以極端的方式表達自己的誠心。

透過誦經和冥想讓自己進入恍惚狀態後，這些信徒會自殘，將鋼棒穿過兩邊臉頰或將鉤子刺掛於背部、腿部、舌頭或其他身體部位，並且使用這些鉤子拖曳裝飾精緻的重物，藉此向神明表達自己的虔誠信仰，旁觀者與擁戴者則敲鑼打鼓、吟誦經文，維持遊行隊伍的士氣。有些信徒甚至會背負稱為「卡瓦地」的行動祭壇，以上百支鋼絲刺穿皮膚加以固定。信徒宣稱沙巴馬尼亞神會於儀式過程中保護自己，確保信徒身上幾乎毫髮無傷。

信徒於一個月前即開始準備，並且投入許多時間齋戒、禱告和冥想，目的在於鍛鍊堅強的意志力，以便經歷大寶森節的苦行過程。遊行結束後，撐過自懲行為的信徒，表示獲得覲見神明的殊榮，因此接下來的一年，可於當地印度族群裡享有特殊待遇。

雖然此靈修行為對多數人而言看似極端，卻是新加坡印度族群最為重視的宗教儀式。對於觀禮的外來者來說，剛好可以見證印度人認知的神聖習俗。