Self-Possession | National Geographic

TL;DR

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival in Thailand involves believers restricting their diet to vegetables, fruit, and extreme ritual practices, including self-mutilation, to cleanse their bodies and spirits.

Transcript

each October on the island of Phuket just off the western coast of the Thai Peninsula a religious frenzy erupts it's called the vegetarian festival during nine days believers are purify their bodies by restricting their diet to vegetables and fruit and cleanse their spirits through ritual but a few will offer their own flesh up to the gods G heat i... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤳 The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is a religious event that involves extreme tests of faith, including self-mutilation, to cleanse the body and spirit.
• 😈 Spirit servants are believed to be chosen by the gods or through illness, and they sacrifice their bodies to absorb evil and bring good luck to the community.
• 🎆 The festival originated from a Chinese opera troupe's miraculous recovery after embracing a vegetarian diet and Taoist rituals.
• 📲 Being a spirit servant is not a choice, but rather a calling from the gods or a result of being touched by illness.
• 🛕 The festival is a community event where believers gather around temples and shrines to witness the rituals performed by the spirit servants.
• 🤳 The spirit servants enter a trance during the festival and are believed to be possessed by the spirits, guiding their actions during self-mutilation.
• ❤️‍🔥 In addition to self-mutilation, spirit servants also participate in other tests of faith, such as fire walking and boiling oil rituals.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the Phuket Vegetarian Festival originate?

The festival started in the 19th century after a Chinese opera troupe became ill and embraced a strict vegetarian diet and Taoist rituals of self-mutilation. Their miraculous recovery led to the continuation of the festival's practices.

Q: How do individuals become spirit servants?

People become spirit servants either by being chosen by the gods or through being touched by illness. After experiencing mysterious symptoms or dreams, they are believed to be called upon to become spirit servants.

Q: What happens to the spirit servants during the festival?

During the festival, spirit servants become possessed by the spirits and enter a trance. They undergo self-mutilation, such as cutting their backs or piercing their cheeks, ears, necks, and tongues with metal rods, to absorb evil and hurt on behalf of the people.

Q: What other tests of faith do the spirit servants undergo?

In addition to self-mutilation, spirit servants also participate in fire walking, boiling oil rituals, and climbing a ladder of sharp blades, further testing their faith and purifying themselves.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is a nine-day religious event that involves believers purifying their bodies through a vegetarian diet and cleansing their spirits through ritual practices.

• Spirit servants, known as ma song, sacrifice their bodies through self-mutilation to purge the community of bad luck and evil.

• Becoming a spirit servant is believed to be chosen by the gods or by being touched by illness.