I've just experienced and witnessed one of the weirdest evenings of my life.
All I can do here is describe the evenings events as I saw them as I still dont fully understand what took place. If anyone out there can add further information Id be grateful. And Id like to say at this point that I have a lot of respect for the whole event and the beliefs of the people that took part. (This is not a P4P report.)
There is a girl here that I know that recently told me that she has started to have a Hindu god 'inside' her sometimes and that she goes to 'parties' where many others become possessed by different Gods. She told me that she is one of the lucky ones and this only happens to a very small percentage of people. After not being able to answer my many questions about this she invited me to come along to see one of these 'parties'. Well, I'm up for anything on the nights when I'm not on the prowl and on the piss and this sounded an interesting way to see a part of Thai culture that I never knew about.
She came and collected me from my hotel tonight and then we met up with her group. This group consisted of one Thai guy (a lawyer), three Thai girls, three katoeys and Papa, the leader of the group. We then filled up two cars and drove off to the meeting which was outside Pattaya near Laem Chabeng. I was happily accepted as part of this group and was told that there was no problem with a Farang going along and that it was OK to take photos. I made a joke about a black magic evening and me being the sacrifice to the Gods but she assured me that it was nothing like that. She said that I was just to sit and watch and not to do anything if I saw anything. I was starting to wonder how strange the evening was going to get.
We finally arrived at the destination for todays party after following special symbols that had been left at road junctions. It looked like quite a big gathering which had been set up in an open marquee holding about 100 people. Before we could go in my group had to get dressed up for the occasion and they all put on saris apart from Papa who donned some kind of animal skin costume. I didnt have a costume because I was just a viewer but I had been told not to wear anything black.
The set up in the tent was a band playing Muay Thai style music behind a large shrine area with lots of plastic chairs set up around three sides of the main floor area.
The evening was already underway as we took our seats band was playing, the MC was chanting and shouting and there were a few people in front of the shrine who would periodically throw water or what looked like flower petals over the shrine area.
I was sat to the right of the lawyer and directly behind the three katoeys. Another group then sat next to and behind me with a small woman with dyed blonde hair taking the seat next to mine.
Papa did the rounds, after a visit to the shrine, saying hello and blessing all the other group elders with his hand making what I suppose is a Hindu greeting but reminded me of the klingon gesture. He then took his seat and got his group ready, blessing them and placing a red dot on the forehead.
Here is Papa blessing one of the Katoeys:
Not long after, a load of firecrackers were set off, the band got louder and the MCs chanting got louder and more intense. I think it was at this point that the Gods were starting to be summoned.
I look around and the lawyer has started to retch and convulse. A couple of the others look at him, then place themselves around. It looks like they are going to make sure he is OK but they give him two lit cigarettes and some leaves which he then smokes and chews on until he is convulsing even more, eventually spewing a small amount into a plastic bag which ahs been placed on the ground below him. One of the katoeys is also going through the same motions, while shaking and shivering a lot as well. Some other people in the crowd also have things happening to them. The woman sat next to me has stood up and started to do a slow arm waving dance and her face has contorted into a very angry expression.
I am the only farang here. Nobody seems to mind me being here, so I decide to remain seated where I am, remain calm and just watch the proceedings. I stop taking photos now though, but the lawyer guy, who now appears OK, tells me that I can get photos at the end.
More summoning of the Gods begins. More people in the crowd start to become possessed. Some of those that become possessed remain in their seats, rocking back and forward, arms waving, chanting, shaking. Others walk up to the dance floor area in front of the shrine they walk, move and act in the character of the particular God that has got hold of them. Some bend over double, and use a walking stick. A tough looking guy in the group next to me has his fists clenched and looks angry and he slowly walks up to the dance floor, where he then starts a slow arms in the air dance. There is a big variety of dance styles going on from contorted body shapes to graceful Thai style to Lucifer techno style. The age range of the possessed varies from kids of about eight years old to old women of about eighty. There are different costumes for the different groups depending on the area of Gods they become are from. My group is Hindu, others might be Chinese or different Thai Gods.
At the height of the summonings I do start to worry that mass hysteria might break out. All of a sudden the woman next to me lets out a blood curdling scream. people look around at her but she is OK she is just possessed. (I find out afterwards that she may have been possessed by some monkey God). She screams again. A guy somewhere else starts to bark. Papa has started ringing a bell and repeatedly blowing on a seashell horn. The lawyer has got an ecstatic grin on his face and has started to giggle away and laugh at people he has become possessed by a child Hindu God and is acting like he is three years old because that is how old the God is. The others give him a can of fanta and keep him amused. Those that are possessed are taken care of by those that arent so they dont do injury to themselves from the rocking and convulsing that they are not in control of.
After over an hour and a half of the summonings things start to die down a bit. Papa receives an envelope from somebody which is his invite for his group to go to the next meeting.
It looks like the party will continue for a while yet but our group makes our way to the cars for the journey back to Pattaya. We then went for some food at a place opposite Lolitas. Papa asks me to come to the next meeting it is in Rayong at eight the next morning. I politely decline, saying that Ill still be sleeping at that time. I feel privileged to have seen this but I dont want to become a regular. During the meal I try to explain that I dont have religion. Papa is an interesting guy he has done all sorts of jobs in his time from seismic work on boats to managing supplies for U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. He went through a change before becoming what he is now, having spent three years in the jungle first clearing his mind and devoting himself. After paying for the meal to thank them for the evening we said our goodbyes but I think I have arranged to go bowling with papa and the lawyer next week
..
What can I say?... Certainly a different night from the usual night out in Pattaya and I do feel honoured to have seen it. Ive done a search on the internet but not found that much information about it all.
Maybe I dont need to know that much I might just end up getting more confused the more I try to find out about it.
