Thaipusam in Penang - be aware of strong pictures!

Oh, what they do to be blessed by their god. The Hindus in Malaysia have an annual festival to get blessings from their lord Murugan and to give offerings to him. They carry kavadis (=burdens)and vels (=spears) and hooks in their bodies as a promise to their god. They pray to the god Murugan (for example to get healthy, to get children, good grades at school etc), and in return they do this, as kind of a "thank you" or a "please". In Penang they walk approx. 4 km (from one temple to another) with the spears and hooks in their body (some of them dragging wagons up to 2 tons), and then they take them out. They say that they feel spiritually cleansed after this, and that it doesn't hurt. If it hurts, or if you bleed, you haven't done proper fasting. (You have to fast and be a vegetarian for 40 days before Thaipusam.) We got to see this in Penang and heard that the people attending or watching were up to 500,000 people. In Kuala Lumpur the celebration is even bigger and attracts many more people. The devotees who carry the burdens have to walk 17 km before they can take them out... This makes me happy that I'm not a Hindu.


Piercing through the skin with the hooks (in total 69 hooks - 30 on each side) The red colour is not blood, but red dust/ashes they put on before starting the piercing.
A man being pierced through his cheaks. He screamed like a posessed man and his wife and daughter were standing close to him, watching the whole procedure, looking quite anxious...


Small children were also watching the parade, and the piercing seemed so natural to everyone, even the family members who were sad to see their fathers/brothers in such a state.








We followed a family through the parade. This girl was happy to celebrate Thaipusam, and her uncle (the picture below) had MANY spears through his skin. If anyone came near his spears he got terrible pains.






This man was screaming like mad and looked like an animal. They played loud music and sang to get people in a trance.

Religious Diversity - all in one town!

My nostrils are gradually getting used to new smells and my stomach is getting used to spicy food. My notebook is full of notes and my memory card is full of pictures. My heart is filling up with new friends and my head is filling up with thoughts. I am in Asia. And I love it.

As we visit Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, temples for the Chinese folk religion, Catholic churches, and get visits from Malaysian youths and interview people with different religions, we get to learn more about the diversity in the world. I am learning more and more that religion often is linked to the culture you grow up in.

Krishna Temple (Hinduism)
We had to wash our feet as we came into the Hindu temple (a Krishna temple). This is my new friend Minda from Oslo.
Some of my fellow students inside the Hindu temple. (From the left: Margrethe V, Maria L. and Kamilla)

Giving offerings to Krishna.
Praying to Krishna.

Murugan Temple (Hinduism)

Ganesha, the elephant god.

Buddhist Temple
Buddha's ashes, that apparently just keep on increasing.
Offerings to Buddha

Happy Buddha in a shop.

Maria L. got herself a new fan and we all envied her in the heat.

Temple of Taoism


Taoism = a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions, The word 道, Tao,roughly translates as, "path" or "way" (of life), although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it carries more abstract meanings. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos. Want to learn more? Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

We have to write an essay which will be graded and I have decided together with Stine to write about the position of Women in Islam and Christianity. The reason for this choice is that we met Malaysian Muslims who gave us a book on the topic, and who really wanted us to read it. It is of course from an Islamic perspective, but this makes it more interesting, as we get to see the religion from the inside.

Lovely Langkawi and Precious Penang

Staying in Langkawi was a nice and quiet transmission from the Western world to the Eastern. As it was a place with loads of tourists, we got the feeling that we were on holiday and we got a fairly easy start.


On Cenang Beach in Langkawi, were we stayed. Take a look at Margrethes blog for more photos of this.

Dancing Limbo on the beach

Mamma – you said it didn't look like I was studying, but here you are! We read when he get the opportunity! ;)

Learning to dance Merengue , Salsa and Bachatka from a German guy. Great fun!
The shops don't only sell small bikinis, they also sell swimming costumes for Muslims, that ensures that all “critical” parts of the body are covered. Margrethe was wondering whether she should start the same trend for non-muslims.

Now that we have come to Penang, the second largest city in Malaysia (Number 1 is Kuala Lumpur, the capital), we finally get the feeling that we're on a different continent.

A man selling sweets etc by the restaurants
The salesman was happy to pose for the camera
A proud young girl helping her parents out in the restaurant.

A big food court where we could get all kinds of food

Lots of food
Man walking around with his helmet.
Woman selling newspapers and magazines.
The view from the 19th floor where we have our lectures in Penang


As mentioned earlier, Malaysia is a Muslim country, and the majority of the population are Muslims. Today we were lectured by a Malaysian Hindu, who is ethnic Indian, but has a Malaysian nationality.

Our Hindu teacher

To be called Malay, one has to be a Muslim. Consequently this is a big dilemma here in Malaysia, since there is a large number of people from China and India who also feel they are Malay... In the Malaysian constitution it says that the Malay people (only the Muslims) get special treatment. Only they have the right to get a scholarship at universities, they get a bigger loan when they buy a new house etc. Our Hindu lecturer had quite strong feelings about this, but the only thing the minorities can do, is to accept it. The alternative is to convert to Islam, but then it is almost impossible to convert back, and they have to follow very strict rules...
Sitting on the boat to Penang with my Nugatti (Norwegian chocolate spread) under my arm, with a Sikh next to me.
Lunch. Tandori chicken which is completely red! Delicious!

Here in Penang the majority is either Buddhist or belongs to the Chinese religions. After lunch today we went around in Penang to get a look at the city and to visit Buddhist and Hindu temples. Photos of this will come soon. :)