Cavadee Thaipoosam. Mauritian Ritual
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PhotographerDario Lo Presti, Italy
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StudioDario Lo Presti Fotografo
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Website
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Instagram
The Cavadee Thaipoosam is a religious ceremony organized by
Mauritians of Tamil origin in honor of Mourouga. The dominant
color is pink, the color of Mourouga, which is dedicated to this
festival, last of ten days of sacrifice and preparation. In fact, one
abstains from sex, they eat only in the evening and fruit and
vegetables, and drink milk to purify themselves. The Mourouga
God is the eldest son of Shiva, which raises two mountains with
a cane due to the strength that gives him the father Shiva, thus
winning the demons. During the celebration the devotees enter
into a trance when they are applied between the cheeks long
silver needles, the VEL, symbol of the victory of the spears. The
pins between the cheeks and the body representing the burden
to carry along the arc, before being released completely. The
Cavadee is more than just a ritual, because it represents the
ethnic Tamil Mauritian miracle of unity in diversity.
Born in Catania in 1983, he began photographing during his studies at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Catania. He dedicates himself to painting and photography at the Artea cultural association and in 2014 he is one of the founding members of the "Social Shooting" collective with which he creates photographic reports. In 2015 he made a report on the Mauritian community of Catania, exhibited some photos in group exhibitions and published his work in the magazines Erodoto 108 and ClickMagazine. In the same year, some of his shots were selected and exhibited in Australia in Sidney.
