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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Fire walking in Udappu.jpg|thumb|A father fire walking with his child during the annual [[Hindu]] festival at [[Udappu]] village in [[Sri Lanka]]]]

The '''Thimithi''' ({{lang-ta|தீமிதி}}<ref name="theemidhi">[http://www.heb.gov.sg/mainhindufestivals.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031070055/http://www.heb.gov.sg/mainhindufestivals.html |date=31 October 2007 }}</ref><ref name="theemithi">[http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_762_2004-12-23.html] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029123341/http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_762_2004-12-23.html |date=29 October 2007 }}</ref> '''Kundam''')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/26/stories/2005032602370300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406074920/http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/26/stories/2005032602370300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-04-06 |title=Tamil Nadu / Erode News : `Kundam' festival on Tuesday |date=2005-03-26 |work=[[The Hindu]] |accessdate=2014-06-12}}</ref> or [[firewalking]] ceremony is a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] festival originating in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[South India]] that is celebrated a week before [[Deepavali]], during the month of Aipasi (or Aippasi) of the [[Tamil calendar]] ([[Gregorian calendar]] months of [[Tamil Calendar#Months|October and November]]). The fire-walking ceremony is in honour of the goddess [[Draupati Amman]], who is considered the incarnation of goddess [[Mariamman]], and is practiced not only in [[India]], but also in [[Fiji]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]], [[Mauritius]], [[Réunion]], [[South Africa]] and other countries with large South Indian populations.

In Singapore, the celebrations begin at [[Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple]] in [[Serangoon Road]] around 10pm and the priest leads the grand procession of people through the streets to Sri Mariamman Temple in South Bridge Road where the actual tīmiti takes place. The priest starts the tīmiti by walking through the pit filled with hot burning wood with a [[karakattam]] "sacred water-filled pot" on his head. He is followed by male devotees intent on fulfilling their personal promises and proving their [[faith]]. The devotees may include a minority of non-Indians and non-Hindus.<ref name="burns">{{cite journal |vauthors=Sayampanathan SR, Ngim RC, Foo CL |title=Fire walking in Singapore: a profile of the burn patient |journal=J R Coll Surg Edinb |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=131–4 |date=April 1997 |pmid=9114688 }}</ref>

==Events during the festival period==
[[File:Preparation of fire walking pit in udappu.jpg|thumb|Preparation of fire walking pit at the [[Draupati Amman]] temple festival in [[Udappu]], [[Sri Lanka]]]]
[[File:Timiti festival at Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore - 1913.ogv|thumb|A home-made film showing a Hindu timiti festival at [[Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore|Sri Mariamman Temple]] in [[Singapore]], 1913]]

During the period of the festival, scenes from Mahabharata are enacted by the devotees and drama troupes. A week before the fire walking they perform prayers to [[Periyachi]] who is one of the most important deities of [[Mariamman]]’s entourage. The grand prayer session is held to request her blessings upon the devotees and that no unpleasant incidents should happen during the festival.<ref name="radha">"Mahabharathathil Uruvaana thiruvizha," by Radha Kasiramu. Tamil Murasu, October 2005, pg 3.</ref>

The second event is a symbolic grand [[Hindu wedding|marriage ceremony]] conducted between [[Arjuna]] and Draupadi. Following this is probably the most important ritual: a simulation of the sacrifice of [[Hijra (South Asia)|Hijra]], which was done before the Mahabharata war to ensure success to the Pandavas. The simulated ritual does not involve human sacrifice.<ref name="radha"/>

Afterwards, devotees offer their prayers like carrying milk pots, doing Kumbiduthandam (prostrating after every step) and Angapirathatchanam (rolling around the temple grounds). Mariamman is given a [[milk bath]] with the milk that the devotees brought as it is a belief that the [[sin]]s of man will be washed away.<ref name="radha"/>

Two days before the Tīmiti festival, a silver [[chariot]] procession takes place to commemorate the 18-day battle which culminates in the Pandavas victory. At this juncture, Krishna agreed to be Arjuna's charioteer. Marking this occasion in Singapore, on the Friday and Saturday prior to Tīmiti, a chariot procession takes place around the [[Telok Blangah]] and [[Bukit Merah]] districts.<ref name="radha"/>

The fire pit is prepared the night before the final day and kept red hot throughout the ritual. Devotees begin their ritual as early as 4 am and the event ends before 11am. It is believed that if they are truly devoted to Draupadi they will walk through the fire unscathed.

Some devotees suffer burn injuries on their feet.<ref name="burns"/> Injuries to children subjected to such rituals in Tamil Nadu have been reported. Reportedly due to unsteadiness while walking, children fall and often sustain injuries to other parts of their bodies besides their feet.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ramakrishnan KM, Jayaraman V, Sankar J, Ramesh J |title=Paediatric burns due to fire walking and its complications. Experience at Chennai (Tamil Nadu, India) |journal=Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters |volume=17 |issue=3 |date=September 2004 |url=http://www.medbc.com/annals/review/vol_17/num_3/text/vol17n3p124.asp}}</ref> However, studies have found that the prolonged suffering involved in this and similar rituals can result in feelings of euphoria for participants, an effect similar to the marathon "runners high".<ref>Fischer, R., D. Xygalatas, P. Mitkidis, P. Reddish, I. Konvalinka & J. Bulbulia (2014). The fire-walker’s high: Affect and physiological responses in an extreme collective ritual. PLOS ONE 9(2): e88355</ref>

==Manappakam Kanni Amman Kovil==

The Kanni Amman Kovil temple located in Manappakkam a village near Chengalpattu, Tamilnadu, India is believed to be celebrating thimidhi thiruvizha more than 2000 years. More than 5000 people do thimidhi and many people do tonsuring (fully shaven head), earpiercing, make Pongal, Kadavettu (Goat-cutting) in front of the temple as offering to the Goddess Arulmigu Kanni Amman and celebrate the festival.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Fire walking}}

[[Category:Hindu festivals]]
[[Category:Festivals in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Religious festivals in India]]
[[Category:Traditions involving fire]]

Thimithi - Revision history

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