This color, amateur made, silent film shows what appears to be a performance — put on for Western tourists — that may shows some of the rituals affiliated with the Tamil Festival of Thaipusam. These include mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with skewers, or piercings tongues or cheeks, all the way through, with a small spear. It’s not exactly clear where the film was shot or if it indeed shows Thaipusam rituals however, as the title of the film “Mystery of the Khalifa” appears non-sensical. The film likely dates to the late 1960s/early 1970s.
Thaipusam or Thaipoosam is a festival celebrated by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February), usually coinciding with Pushya star, known as Poosam in Tamil. The festival is also observed among Keralites and is vernacularly called Thaipooyam. It is mainly observed in countries where there is a significant presence of Tamil community such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, South Africa, Canada and other places where ethnic Tamils reside as a part of the local Indian diaspora population such as Réunion, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica and the other parts of the Caribbean.
Title: Mystery Of The Khalifa (:08-:12). Men set up a display in what might be the yard of a hotel. Performers in costume start to play instruments. A display houses swords. The men sit in the sun and play bongos. A man dances as others play drums and tambourines. A child dances as another part of the group appears bored. A small arrow is pierced through the skin of a man in two different spots. He stands with the piercing in his face. When one piercing remains, the second is attached (:13-3:40). Close ups on the pierced man’s mouth and face. A second man is having his tongue pierced by a sword to a piece of wood. The first pierced man moves around holding other sharp objects. The second man stands there, looks like he’s in discomfort (3:42-6:15). The first man has his piercings tinkered with by a man. His ears seem to be attached to the piece in his mouth. He opens his mouth as hands assist in removing some of the piercings. He opens his mouth as everything has been removed. The second man shows his bloody tongue. An older man dances while holding a sword to his face before slicing it across his tongue while dancing (6:16-9:04). The man continues to dance while pulling the sword across his tongue. He is done and stops. Another man plays with a sword before hitting it. One man holds it while he swings at it. The older man, once again, plays with the sword against his face. The next man continues to whack at the sword while it lays across his arm (9:05-11:16). A caucasian man in a suit kneels before the sword man. The white man stands on top of the sword as two others hold it against his belly. Another man hammers it into the man’s stomach, blade down. A man hammers the blade into the man’s mouth. The next man stands and presses with his feet as it goes into the mouth. The hammer returns and it hits the blade as it is in the man’s mouth. He then stands and presses down on it into the man’s mouth. Two men pose as a man plays the bongos. A skinny man plays with the sword and rubs it across his chest. A man leans against the blade. Men show off pants. The men start putting swords and material away in a chest (11:17-14:01). End credits (14:02-14:10).
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