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Sacred site, India

Palani

A hill temple of Murugan where devotees shave their heads and coat them in sandalwood paste.

Palani, in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul district, is crowned by the Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, one of the six abodes of the god Murugan. Head shaving is a central act of devotion here. Pilgrims shave at the foot of the hill, smear their heads with cool sandalwood paste and climb the steps or ride the winch to the shrine, many during the festival of Thaipusam.

Shaving for Murugan

At Palani the god is shown as a young renunciant who gave up his finery and stands with only a staff, which gives the shaved head a special fitting meaning: devotees copy the god's renunciation. Babies have their first tonsure here and adults fulfil vows. The temple's barbers work in halls near the foot of the hill, and the yellow sandalwood paste on freshly shaved heads is one of the most familiar sights of the town.

Thaipusam

Thaipusam, in the Tamil month of Thai in January or February, brings hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, many of whom walk to Palani from across Tamil Nadu and Kerala carrying kavadi, decorated wooden arches borne on the shoulders. Many shave their heads before entering. The temple is also known for panchamirtham, a sweet offering of fruit, jaggery and honey, which pilgrims take home.

Hairstyles of Palani

TonsureShaving as devotion to MuruganHead shaving in HinduismFirst tonsure of children at the hill temple

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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