The Kavadi Attam is the sacrificial offering performed by devotees to Lord Murugan during the auspicious festival day of Thaipusam. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore offering prayers for fulfiled or some future requirements from Lord Muruga
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Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer & fasting for 48 days before Thaipusam. Kavadi-bearers have to perform ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi & at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy, consumes only vegan food & are on a continuous thinking of God. On the day of the festival, devotees shave their heads & undertake a pilgrimage along a set route, while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadis.
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The simplest kavadi is a semicircular decorated twin canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders to the temple, there are elaborate carved detailed kaavadi depending upon ones capablity..
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The kaavadi is reveared as a channel of communion with the lord & every family of kaavadi bearers treasure Kaavadi for many generations and even broken kaavadis are repaired, treasured equivalent to gods and displayed on walls with floral offerings and lamps lit before them daily, thats because the facing of kaavadi is extensively carved with images of gods so it becomes a travel temple.
https://indiantiquest.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-kavadi-attam-is-sacrificial.html