Next: about 22 Jan 2027
Thaipusam in Malaysia
At Batu Caves devotees in yellow and saffron carry milk pots and kavadi to Murugan, and women wear yellow or orange sarees.
What is worn for Thaipusam in Malaysia
Thaipusam is the festival of Murugan, held on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, in January or February, when the star Pusam is in the sky. In Malaysia the largest gathering is at the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, where hundreds of thousands of devotees climb the steps to the temple in the cave. Many carry a pot of milk, called paal kudam, and some carry a kavadi, a decorated frame worn on the shoulders, in thanks for a vow. The usual colours are yellow, saffron and orange, which are the colours of the god. Women wear yellow or orange sarees, or a salwar suit, and men wear a yellow or orange veshti or shirt. It is also a public holiday in some states and in Singapore. The dates can differ by a day.
The sarees
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Thaipusam" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sari: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source