Thursday, February 16, 2006
Thaipusam to a non-Hindu Penangite
Lord Muruga, His Consorts, His Divine Spear & His Vehicle; The Peacock 
Hilltop Murugan Temple At Waterfall, Penang.
The silver chariot bearing Lord Muruga's image on procession from Kovilvedu, Market Street to Nattukotai Chettiar Temple, Waterfall on Thaipusam Eve.
A closer view of Lord Muruga's image on the chariot
I'm a 3rd generation Chinese from Penang. Come Thaipusam each year, my family never fail to turn up to pay homage to Lord Muruga in the Waterfall temple. One can see from the crowd of devotees at Waterfall, almost half of it consists of local Chinese!
The tallest image of Lord Muruga, Batu Caves, Malaysia.
Their devotion to Lord Muruga can be traced back to one or two generations ago. My late grandmother knew about Lord Muruga when she was in her late 30's (1940's). She fondly referred to Lord Muruga as 'Ti Ti Ang Kong' , ('Ti Ti' being a corrupted version of the local Chinese pronunciation of Chetiar, and 'Ang Kong' which means God) God of the Chetiars. Her faith in Lord Muruga was passed down to my parents, and they in turn passed it on to me.
This is generally how the Chinese in Penang come to syncretise Lord Muruga into their faith. The Chinese devotees may not know much about Thaipusam or Lord Muruga when compared to their Hindu friends save testimonials of blessings but their devotion is at par with the rest of their Hindu friends.
This Article Was Posted on : 14-Feb-2006 (In Star Online Citizen's blog)
