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My housemate was watching a show on Netflix called Medicine Men Go Wild when I happened into the room for Season 1 Episode 2: World of Pain. The episode involves the two brothers (apparently doctors) traveling around Asia interacting with people who are undergoing immense amounts of pain (by Western standards), such as broken ribs, an infected and removed fingernail, Thaipusam, and Indian flesh suspensions! Obviously, the latter two were of interest to me. The doctors are quite down to Earth dudes who really become involved in their research, going so far as to receive cheek skewers at Thaipusam and one of them takes a hook in his back from some “rationalists” in Bangalore. The rationalists evidently travel around and perform what we’d call ball dances and vertical back suspensions while not entranced or meditating, in order to show others that there is nothing mystical about these acts of pain.

I couldn’t find the suspensions anywhere online to link to but I did find a short clip of one of the brothers receiving the hook in his back.

Note that I “get” what the rationalists’ message is, but I can’t help but feel that there is something more to suspensions than just the physical, but that’s more of a face to face conversation.

ihung suspended a great friend of ours over the weekend and Jared was nice enough to share this fantastic video footage he shot from the experience.

So far, most of the images I’ve posted have been in regards to the street processions, but that’s not all that happens during the festival. I’ve chosen to largely highlight that aspect of this ceremony as it is most in line with body modification rituals such as suspensions. This post is still going to be mostly images from the processions, but I’m also including some notes and pics from one of the evening rituals: hot oils baths.

As I mentioned before, the temples do firewalking ceremonies at night, and in addition to that, the night prior, the mah-song partake in hot oil baths. A large wok of oil is heated and the entranced mah-song tend to it, dipping their hands into it to test it’s temperature. When it reaches the proper temperature (ie bubbling), they take swaths of clothe, dip them in the oil and proceed to flagellate themselves, leaving red marks and oil all over their torsos. Again, due to rain and their rapid movements, I was unable to obtain pictures of the actual flagellation, but I do have a picture of the oil and one of Bang Neow’s eldest mah-song between flagellations.

The mediums take turns self-flagellating and saying prayers over the oil. Once the oil is sufficiently blessed, it is ladled into small plastic bottles and sold to the patrons of the shrine. It’s said to be great for body massage, but it’s other use in soothing your feet after walking on fire the next night. I can personally attest to the oil’s abilities in healing the latter…
Now, here are some random pictures of Jui-Tui mah-song and their various “burdens”.
Those hooks in his ears seem familiar….
Note that I use the term “burdens” as my own word, which I’ve appropriated from thaipusam as I don’t really know what else to call the items they wear/carry. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of western documentation (or eastern for that matter) which describes this ceremony as it’s very unique to Phuket province. Even elsewhere in Thailand, the piercing portion of the ceremony isn’t present, nor is it present in Malaysia or mainland China where the festival originates as The Nine Emperors Festival.