CAVES, TEMPLES AND MONKEYS

The first time we came to Korea, we managed to wrangle a 2-night stopover in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. We really had no idea what to do in KL so we hired a driver to take us around the city and its environs. First stop after the compulsory visit to a jade factory was the Batu Caves, huge, natural limestone caves that are situated about 15 or so kilometers from downtown. These caves have an ancient history, used by people for thousands of years. Now though, their major function is as a Hindu temple, numbering as one of the more important temples outside of India. The site is comprised of several caves, the largest one known as the temple or Cathedral Cave, which houses several separate temples under its large 100 metre ceiling. This ceiling serves as a vaulted arch, impressive as the man-made ones in Christian churches or in Islamic mosques, a fusion of natural and man-made ways for people to communicate with and celebrate the Hindu deities. The use of the caves as a shrine dates back to the 1890s, when an Indian trader was inspired by the shape of the main cave and decided to erect a temple to Lord Murugan (a prominent Hindi deity, particularly worshipped in Tamil areas).

Steps leading up to the top, 272 of them.

Mary was complaining of feeling sick but I thought that all she needed was some encouragement, as 300 steps (272 to be exact, all conveniently numbered to help you on your way) weren’t appealing to someone as exercise-phobic as Mary was (now she runs 10K for fun). The climb was difficult, but more so because of the heat and humidity than the steps, especially as we were coming out of a New Zealand winter. Watching the antics of some fun loving monkeys made the climb easier though. Not that we needed them to be performing for us. When New Zealanders see animals like monkeys or squirrels, we have a tendency to go a bit nutty, taking a thousand photos for that one perfect shot while the rest of the world walks by, wondering why we are taking endless photos of a nondescript, bedraggled squirrel or a passive aggressive monkey. I believe this trait has to do with the fact that we are almost entirely lacking in any native mammalian species; therefore any sighting of a wild mammal interests us. The monkeys were in a playful mood and didn’t seem to be the aggressive beasts that signs at the bottom warned us about. Subsequent encounters have taught me three things about monkeys; that warning signs are not to be ignored; second that they are moody and unpredictable creatures and thirdly that an umbrella is a useful weapon to deter a monkey charge. We did watch two of them working in tandem to steal some fruit from a young European boy, which was quickly devoured much to the surprise and shock of the poor victim.

Monkey at the caves

Torn between watching the mammalian escapades and reaching the summit, we slowly laboured our way to the top where upon arrival, Mary promptly runs past the ornately decorated entrance arch, retreating quickly to find a corner to vomit in. A tidal wave of spew poured out over a sacred Hindu area. Years of history coated in 24 hours of partially digested curry and rice, a clash of culture and civilizations in a most crude form. Fortunately, she missed defacing any of the ancient Hindu artifacts. Otherwise, there may have been a lynching that day, two pasty white bodies swinging in the Malaysian wind. From the abyss, a goblinesque shriek echoed around the cavern. We heard the noise before we saw the source. An ancient Indian lady was running, screaming at us like a dervish, brandishing a bucket of water and a broom. Her language was unrecognizable to us but her intention was clear, “clean this up, you heathen, imperialist dog”. Poor Mary had to mop up her vomit, all the while trying to hold down the next lot that she could feel coming up her food pipe like a giant python. She did well, cleaning up her first discharge and managing to control her body long enough to get to a bathroom so she could release the rest.

Inside Cathedral Cave.

The caves themselves were magnificent, a juxtaposition between nature and human design, natural creation and human inspiration, delightful brightly coloured temples superimposed against a large cave opening where one could imagine bats returning every morning to nestle in the temple eaves. Some of the caves are dedicated to other deities. For example, in one of the smaller caves known as the Ramayana Cave, murals have been painted alongside the walls of the cave depicting the story of Rama. Nearby was a temple and statue dedicated to his monkey aide, Hanuman. Elsewhere, there are statues in niches, murals and wall paintings depicting Hindi scenes and images. Some of the monkeys would try and get inside but were shooed away by the temple attendants. There were cats, pigeons and chickens. A dog came over to help clean up the remnants of Mary’s offerings. It has to be said that when we went there, some of the grotto's were pretty grotty. Obviously, there was a sort of inherent trash level allowed in the temple and Mary didn’t just cross the line, she smashed it.

An unfortunate side effect of Mary’s situation was that we wouldn’t make it to nighttime let alone lunchtime to see if the bats would leave for the night. So we made our way slowly down the stairs back to the car and regretfully cancelled the rest of the trip. The driver was kind enough to supply Mary with a plastic bag for the drive back to our hotel, which she proceeded to have her head in for the whole journey whilst I enjoyed the views of KL, regretful that I missed out on more Malaysian sightseeing. We were unsure as to why she was sick as we had shared a meal the night before and I was fine, at least physically although a little castigated from the sermon we had received on the mount. On returning to the hotel, we read the travel sickness medication Mary had been on had the unfortunate side effect of nausea. An anti-nausea pill that might cause nausea. Oh the irony.

Because of Mary’s sickness, I didn’t have time to check out the world’s largest Muruga statue, all 42.7 metres of glittering gold of it. It was having the finishing touches applied to it when we visited the caves. At a glance, it could be mistaken for a statue of Buddha. But the caves and statue are distinctively Hindu and are the focus of the annual Thaipusam festival, a pilgrimage site for Hindus all over the world. The festival’s most famous feature are the devotees who pierce their backs and faces using long skewers to carry kavadi, vessels filled with milk to be offered to Lord Muruga. The festival is one of the biggest events in South East Asia, with it attracting over 1.5 million pilgrims in 2007. The caves, the festival and the statue are examples of how Malaysia, an Islamic country, has guaranteed religious freedom to its citizens. While the majority of people are Muslim (60%), there are also large Buddhist (20%), Christian (10%) and Hindu (7%) communities. This mix reflects the fact that several ethnic groups call Malaysia home. About 50% of the population is Malay (defined as people who practice Islam and follow Malay customs and culture). Another 11% of people including Thais, Khmers, Chams and the indigenous people of both peninsular Malaysia and Borneo are grouped together with the Malays in a population known as bumiputra. Bumiputras dominate the country politically but not financially. Two other large groups are the Chinese Malaysians (23% of the population) and people of Indian descent (mostly Tamil and comprising about 7% of the population). The Chinese Malaysians have been particularly successful in commerce and business, outperforming Malay people in these areas.

Large statue outside the caves.

The relationship between the groups has been largely peaceful of late, although there is some resentment that the interests of Malays have been promoted ahead of other ethnic groups. The preferential treatment of Malays over the other ethnic groups has been around since the country gained its independence from Britain in the 1950s. Policies have been put in place that provide for preferential treatment of Malays in employment, education, scholarships, and business and provides access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. The reasons given are quite open; that Malays aren’t business savvy as the Chinese and need a hand-up to be able to compete with their Chinese compatriots. Like most positive affirmation policies, it was well intended. Bumiputras only held about 2.4% of the economy in 1970, with the rest either in Chinese or foreign hands. The policy has worked to a degree; now Bumiputras have about 20% of Malaysia’s wealth although many professions are still dominated by either Chinese Malaysians or Indian Malaysians.

Things haven't always been this cozy between the major ethnic groups in Malaysia.

That’s not to say that the different communities have always seen eye to eye. The positive affirmation policies were one of the reasons why Singapore decided to separate from the Malaysian Federation in 1965. Race riots against the Chinese occurred in 1969, with Malays protesting against the influence and success of the Chinese population. Chinese-Malaysians have not protested too vigorously at the initiative, given that a disproportionate amount of the wealth is still in their hands. They are also mindful that pushing the subject could lead to a backlash, perhaps similar to the deaths and expulsions of Chinese from Indonesia in the 50s and 60s. Now Malaysia stands as one of South East Asia’s more dynamic communities, although the harmony between groups that an outsider sees may not be entirely representative of the dynamic in the country. Several state governments have tried to pass sharia law, a policy that the federal government has been able to stall for the time being. It will be interesting to watch and see how Malaysia develops over the next 20 years and how it will deal with the different ethnic groups in its midst.