Thaipusam, a Hindu festival (ironically banned in India) takes place in Singapore's Little India annually. To atone for past sins, or keep a promise, thousands of Hindu devotees and followers of Lord Subramaniam, practice ritual piercing in a festival atmosphere. Hundreds of spearlike barbs, with dome-shaped metal shrines (kavadi) are poked through a devotee's body.

The culmination of a month of prayer, fasting and abstinence, devotees prance through the streets with music and dance. Almost carnival-like, family and friends who shout encouragement, distract devotees from the pain of having their tongues pierced by long rods.