Tamil-Malaysian devotee at Penang's auspicious Thaipusam religious celebration, George Town, Peninsular Malaysia. Digital film scan, Asahi Pentax Spotmatic (SMC Pentax Zoom 45~125mm f/4), circa 1973.
Every year on the day of the first full moon in late January or early February over a million pilgrims gather at various temples across Malaysia to celebrate Thaipusam, a vibrant Hindu religious festival in honour of Lord Subramaniam (also known as Lord Muruga, god of war in the Hindu-Tamil pantheon).
Thaipusam is rooted in Hindu-Tamil legend, brought to the Malayan peninsula by a diaspora of South Indian immigrants who came to work on the rubber estates during the British colonial administration in the late 18th-century.
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