Of fire-walking festivals

I went to the fire-walking festival at the Second River/Umbilo Temple in Cato Manor on Sunday. Wow. What an amazing ceremony.

A large (very large, I’d say about 5m long) pit is filled with burning coals, with a basin of diluted milk at the end and a basin of turmeric liquid at the beginning. The devotees are gathered elsewhere, working themselves into a trance and preparing for the fire walking. They are then led in by their families, adorned with fruit hanging from fish hooks in their skin, flowers and brightly coloured paint, as well as large tongue piercings.

And then they walk — across scorching hot coals, without burning their feet. It’s incredible to see!

The festival is in honour of Shree Draupadiamman, the Goddess of Fire. She was born from a sacrificial fire and is regarded as an incarnation of the most divine mother Sakthi. She battled the evil Durydodana of the Kauravas, and when she won she demonstrated her power by walking on burning coals unscathed. Now, her devotees do the same.

It’s an amazing sight, not only because you can walk close to the pit and feel the extraordinary heat (it comes off the coals in scorching waves), but also to see such vivid proof of belief. We live in a cynical world; most of the time it’s hard to pin anyone down to something they really believe in. But here is a whole group of people firmly believing they can defy what seems logical and walk on fire. And they can! Obviously there’s a lot of mind power involved, but I tell you — watch an elderly lady in a sari walking across scorching coals and you’ll be amazed. I was.

The whole atmosphere was pretty incredible, in fact. The temples were beautifully adorned, everyone was dressed in their most beautiful traditional clothing, and there was food, drink and music aplenty. It was a grand celebration, and I felt honoured to be part of it…

Just another reason I think we’re living in an incredible country (despite, despite, despite).