EPISODE 18:

BLOOD RED & PURE

PHUKET, THAILAND

Traditional Chinese mediums in Thailand are known as the Mah Song, and they are notorious for pushing the limits of human pain tolerance. Just like Tangki of Malaysia or the Tatong of Singkawang, the Mah Song perform astounding self-mortification rituals that are distinct in their commitment to the extremes. During Phuket Island’s infamous Vegetarian Festival, hundreds of Mah Song take to the streets, and paint the town red with their blood. 

Blood and vegetarianism are obvious contradictions, but this title is merely a commercial rebranding of the The Nine Emperor Gods Festival. Over two hundred years ago, Chinese miners on the island of Phuket were hit with a deadly plague. They prayed to celestial deities and showed their loyalty by going through a period of austerities including vegetarian dieting. It is believed that the Nine Emperors cured the Chinese miners, and so they have continued the tradition annually. The Nine Emperor Gods festival has now spread all over Southeast Asia, but Phuket Island has maintained significance by holding the most extreme displays of traditional mediums. 

Phuket’s Mah Song are so notorious that they have begun being treated like a side show at other temple festivals in Malaysia. They are flown in to entertain locals, and in some ways have broken out of tradition by being acknowledged as performers rather than mediums. There is a sense of tragedy in and around the traditions of the Mah Song, but in Phuket, the Vegetarian Festival is an incredible orchestration of mass ritual and one of the true highlights of Southeast Asian culture.