Mass Possession At School

Last week dozens of school children became possessed in the same way as the adults do at the annual Vegetarian Festival here in Southern Thailand. Teachers called in ambulances. This has happened before in Southern Thailand, there is good documentation on one website that I found, and their interpretation of what was happening. I put a link to it to the title above.

It was on Thai t.v. news, but I couldn't find it on the English internet Thai news sites. I will keep looking in the next few days for something about it on the internet, but it will probably be a private resource because this is probably going to be viewed as something a little embarassing to the country.

It was not a welcome event, in any case, at a school. At the Vegetarian Festival, however, thousands of adults, both men and women, believe they are chosen by the spirits to be possessed. They are then skewered with metal rods, usually in their mouths, and parade in groups going to houses and businesses to bless the occupants who have prepared a table for the spirit ceremony for them, including special food and tea.

Comments

iya.camaya said…
Wow, this is quite a curiosity. Same thing happened in a school in the Philippines, as reported in the news yesterday.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080820-155831/Classes-stopped-as-possessed-students-alarm-Mindoro-school

Are these incidents quite common? What seem to have caused them? And why in scools? It would be good to see updates on this.
22/8/08 6:14 AM
Oceanicthai said…
It has happenned pretty frequently here in Southern Thailand. For more info you can google "spirit possession Southern Thailand" For this area it is related to the annual spirit possession otherwise known as "Vegetarian Festival" where hundreds of adults (and a few children) allegedly become possessed by ancient Chinese kings who have ascended to nirvana and have come back to bless. Is there a similar ceremony where the one you found takes place?
25/8/08 8:58 PM
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