Thaipusam Hindu festival in Singapore where people show their faith by piercing their bodies with hooks and spikes

Thaipusam takes place during the Hindu month of Thai which is at the end January / beginning of February. It is the day of consecration to Hindu deity Lord Murugan. Kavadis are carried or pulled with chains and ropes anchored in the skin. The "vel kavadi" is the most spectacular and is anchored to the devotee through 108 "vels", each of which is pierced into the skin on the chest and back. The devotees are said to feel no pain.