Cavadee

On the island of Réunion this "ceremony of the ten days," performed once a year in honor of the god Muruga, is one of the major Hindu religious events associated with the granting of wishes. The faithful observe it for reasons to do with disease or misfortune, in order to derive personal benefit from it.

A great procession takes place at the end of nine days of prayer and purification. On this occasion, the faithful create flower-bedecked arches, the cavadees, which they carry for several kilometers. In honor of the god, they pierce their cheeks, tongues, and other parts of the body with needles and hooks, and bring offerings which will be presented to the divinity.

Three aspects of the cavadee are presented: its origins, the chronology of one day of prayer, and the great procession on the tenth day.