Kavadi Aattam

Traditional 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.

Idumban put the hillocks down to rest awhile near the present day town of Palani, Tamil Nadu but could not lift them back.

Murugan had previously been outwitted in a contest for going round the world where his brother Vinayakar won the jñāna paḻam, the fruit of wisdom.

[2] The devotees prepare themselves by following strict purification austerities that include transcendence of desire, shaving of the head, following a vegetarian diet and refraining from alcohol, sexual abstinence, bathing daily in cold water, sleeping on the floor and constant prayer.

[1] On the day of the festival, devotees undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens).