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- VOL. 12.7
Wrapped in Comfort at Le Meridien’s Portofino Ristorante
Piercing – The Rite of Purification
Epat Diary: Dangerous Liaisons
What is most curious, however, is not that people would want to thrust sharp objects through tender flesh, but that so few seem to suffer the usual consequences of self-immolation – those consequences being extreme pain, massive blood loss, and hospitalisation. “Every year a couple of them come in for antiseptic cream or paracetamol for their pain. Or for fever if it has been very hot or raining,” says a pharmacist, who has watched the On Spirit processions pass his shop every year since he first opened twenty years ago. “Normally, though, these people just heal themselves in a couple of days.” You can just imagine it: Man walks into pharmacy with a spear stuck through his face and says, “Do you have any Tiffy? I think I’ve caught a cold.”
Over at the Public Health Department of Phuket, even the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Boonriang Chuchaisangrat, has to smile, but there is a serious side to the festival for him and his associates. Though the Vegetarian Festival was born of a need to cleanse the community of disease, its recent increased popularity is threatening to undo all its good work. “Cholera is our major concern,” says Dr. Boonriang. “But there are many problems with so many people coming into such close contact.” These include potential mass food poisoning and a host of other nasty water-borne diseases, not to mention the 40 to 80 serious injuries caused by fireworks every year.
Three years ago, Dr. Boonriang and his colleagues initiated a major control effort, which included a public awareness campaign and continuous monitoring of food and water supplies throughout the festival. He has also insisted that all participants in the On Spirit parades be tested for HIV before they can impale themselves.
Perhaps surprisingly, Phuket’s hospitals do not keep specific records of the number of out-patients in need of medical attention because of self-mutilation, but Dr. Boonriang guesses that 20-80 serious “knife” wounds are treated during the festival, leaving some room for doubt that On Spirit wounds magically heal themselves.
There is no doubt in the mind of Pisit Khunsong, though. Twenty-five years ago, he was as cynical about On Spirit as all the other non-believers. “I looked down on those people as all fakes who liked to play show off.” So what was it that changed his mind? For a moment he is silent, then, in a quiet voice, he says, “I heard the whisper of God.”
In the weeks leading up to the Vegetarian Festival, On Spirit devotees congregate at their local Chinese temples to prepare for the violent cleansing process they are about to undertake. Just before the festival is to begin other worshippers come to the temple to make merit. It was during such a visit in 1976 that Khun Pisit heard the whisper of God and fell into a sleep-like trance. Despite being 100% Southern Thai, with no Chinese heritage, he began to chant in Mandarin and the whisper of God told him what he must do to cleanse himself. In his first ten years of On Spirit involvement, Khun Pisit used his snooker cue to immpale himself, and very faint scars on his cheeks testify to their periodic punishment. He claims to have felt no pain during his impalements, and his wounds would seal themselves after only a couple of hours.
Since his first year of On Spirit, Khun Pisit has seen both his life and lifestyle improve dramatically. He no longer drinks or stays out late at night, and he has also been cured of his gambling – the worst of which, perhaps tellingly, was gambling on snooker. He also has a beautiful wife and devoted children, who all support him in his beliefs. These days the whisper of God has suggested he use boiling oil to purify his body, a task he readily undertakes. “I have no idea how my life would have turned out without this belief, but I know that since it all began I am a calmer person. I’m more peaceful in my mind and more organized in my life.”
At Jiu Tui temple in Phuket Town, the preparations for the On Spirit devotees have been underway for many months. It’s a massive undertaking involving the municipal authorities, the police, temple committees, and local people. Last year over six hundred showed up to be purified through piercing and pain, this year many more are expected. “Every year more and more come,” says the old caretaker at Jui Tui, who is also an On Spirit participant of more than twenty years standing. “We don’t advertise it, they just hear about it from the others and come along. People truly believe this will help them clear the dirt from their minds and souls, even for just a while. And more and more come every year – that must show there is some meaning to this belief.”
Khun Pisit, now an On Spirit organizer with his local temple, also looks forward to seeing more devotees with each successive year. He also hopes more sponsors will come forward to help the different temple groups. “This allows us to open our minds to the good things in life, to understand what is missing from it, and to share our spirit with the rest of society,” he says. “That should be alright, even if only for ten days in a year.