Some walked a few paces and broke into a sprint, some ran all the way, but most devotees made it through the fire-walking ritual, reports Gavin Foster
It’s a grey, drizzly day, but the coals are pumping out the heat and the crowd is restless. A rhythmic drumming keeps people praying and waiting their turn to run the gauntlet swaying in time.
A priest prays with a young girl, aged about 12, who then steps out of a pool of water and sprints across a trough filled with glowing coals. At the other end helpers grab her and ensure she doesn’t overstep a receiving trough filled with a milky coolant. The girl kneels on the ground in front of a shrine and prays before rejoining the chanting throng.
Fire-walking takes place annually at temples in Durban and elsewhere in South Africa, in honour of the Hindu Goddess of Fire, Dravpadi.
Legend has it her father, King Drupada, prepared a sacrificial fire for Dravpadi, whose purity was under question because of her unusual marital arrangements she was simultaneously wife to five brothers of the Pandavas clan.
Dravpadi walked through the fire unharmed, thus proving her purity and fidelity to her marital vows.
Legend also has it that Ramayana Sita, the wife of Rama, undertook a fire test after she was held prisoner by Sri-Lankan King Ravana. Upon her release, her people had doubted her purity, true love and fidelity.
“Today fire-walking is a medium to overcome sickness, fear and personal limitations,” says Dr Dorasamy Moodley of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha.
“It requires intense concentration, dedication and discipline to execute a successful Dravpadi ceremony.”
In the hour or so that the Mail & Guardian watched the proceedings, only one person weakened and jumped to the side out of the pit of coals a young girl of about 10, who was more afraid than hurt.
Then a middle-aged woman was snatched from the coals and dumped in the trough to extinguish her smouldering clothing after she tripped over her sari. Embarrassed, she smiled and held up her arms to show that she was unhurt.
Of the rest, a few walked, some walked a few paces and then broke into a sprint, and most ran all the way. Clothed in bright traditional dress with painted faces and needles thrust through their flesh, or dressed in simple jeans and T-shirts, they all made it.