Back in Summer of 2005, Evolved Body Art hosted an event titled The International Body Art Expo which was to be a “more than” tattoo convention. During the planning stages of this, I was contacted to see if I wanted to partake in a Kavadi walk ritual with a man named Ego Kornus. I, of course, accepted and on the day of was ecstatic to meet Ego as I was familiar with his work and had much respect for him. We’d chatted a bit online beforehand, so I wasn’t going in completely blind, and had done some preparation in the form of light fasting, increased water intake, and personal introspection in order to calm my mind for the experience.
My part in the ceremony was to receive multiple piercings on my torso and arms from which various fruits were hung. This is a very common practice in religious ceremonies such as Thaipusam, a ceremony we were borrowing heavily from. Along with myself, there were a handful of others adorned with fruits and flowers, and Ego who carried the kavadi, and a large cheek skewer, and also Nick who had hooks inserted in his back and dragged around several large stones from them. The ritual began late, and we were short on time, but despite this, all piercings were performed at a ritualized pace, with controlled breathing and a lot of coaching and support from everyone involved. Once all of us had our fruits attached, Nick had his burdens, and Ego had the spears inserted, we began the procession. I’m unsure of how long the actual procession lasted, but the experience was one I will never forget.
Often in the body modification world, we become so obsessed with the standard rituals of piercing, cutting, scarification, suspension, etc, that the others, like kavadi and ball dances fall by the wayside. It’s refreshing to have these other ritual experiences to elevate our awareness of the immense world of ritual modifications and ceremonies out there.
For more information on kavadi, and to follow Ego’s current endeavors, check out two of his sites:
http://kavadinfo.blogspot.com/
http://svasticross.blogspot.com/