Kavadi Aattam

Kavadi Aattam (Tamil: காவடி ஆட்டம், romanized: burden dance) is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of Murugan, the Hindu god of war. It is a central part of the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi ("burden") itself is a physical burden, the bearing of which is used by the devotee to implore Murugan for assistance, usually on behalf of a loved one who is in need of healing, or as a means of balancing a spiritual debt. Devotees process and dance along a pilgrimage route while bearing these burdens.