Estimated Costs and Benefits of Extreme Rituals in Mauritius
Why do people willingly engage in painful or exhausting rituals with no obvious material reward?
Pain and suffering as part of religious life: The Mauritian Thaipusam kavadi
In a pop-science article published in Dingir, E. Kundtová Klocová discusses the various socio-cultural aspects of the Thaipusam Kavadi ritual as practiced in Mauritius.
The festival of Thaipusam is celebrated in numerous Tamil communities around the world and it is the most important and spectacular religious event in their Mauritian diaspora. In her article, Eva K. K. looks at various aspects of this remarkable religious ritual to tackle its possible psychological, social, and health-related functions and benefits, as well as its mythological roots and popular conceptions.
