While the priestly class is proud of veda recitation, daily sadhana comprising usually of recitation of various slokas, performance of various rituals such as tarpana to pitrus or one's diseased ancestors, observance of various fasts and festivals, the non-Brahmin class mostly comprising of lower income group offers the following 'tremendous' sadhana:
1. Walking on hot coal - 'Thee midi' meaning 'walk on fire' - offered to various Ammans such as Mariamman, Angalamman, Petchiamman.
2. Piercing of Vel - Offered mainly to Murugan, it comprises of piercing various body parts, mainly the mouth area and the back with numerous needles and carrying a 'Kavadi' - a Palenquin-like structure usually made of wood and the devotees with such a kavadi and pierced needles go on procession before Murugan temple.
3. Mayana Kollai - From Wiki:
People go on procession to the graveyard, cook food there and offer it to the deities. Collect ashes from the cremation ground and smear it on the body - next, they also do the inhumane act of biting live chickens, tender goats on their throats and walk with the dead animal still on their mouth back to the temple.
4. Adi Pradakshinam with namaskara for Shiva: Offered around Shiva temples, this includes miles of distance walked in a very slow pace, such as placing the next foot where the previous foot ends and taking a namaskara each step across the way until the entire temple and its tenanting mountain are all completely circumambulated.
5. Head shave with body pradakshinam: Offered at various temples, one of the foremost being Tirupathi, the devotees - men, women and children alike all give up their hair and lie down on the floor and go in circles around the temple in designated pathways.
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