TRANSCENDENTS: SPIRIT MEDIUMS IN BURMA AND THAILANDPublished November 2017 - Click here to purchase the book
Most people in Burma and Thailand are
Buddhists, but there are areas in both countries where Spirit Mediums
continue to perform the ancient, animist traditions and rituals that
pre-date Buddhism.
Although there are differences in the
traditions practiced by Spirit Mediums in Myanmar and Thailand, I have
combined the images here, as my focus is on the visual mystery of
Spirit Mediums when they are possessed, and when going about their
daily lives. I am looking at them as human beings who have been part of
their cultures for as long as Animism has existed.
In the past,
most Spirit Mediums were women, but over time, more men have felt
called as Spirit Mediums. Those that live as men, dress as women in
colorful, flowing garments, wear make-up, headdresses , and ornate
jewelry before, during, and after possession. They must adorn themselves
as women for the Spirits. Others live as women fulltime. They would be
identified as transgender in the west.
When Mediums are
possessed by a particular Spirit, they fall into a trance, and dance
for many hours, drinking, smoking, accepting money from the crowd of
onlookers who may join in the dance. During festivals when not dancing,
Mediums sit in their beautifully decorated tents with altars covered
with offerings that may include fruit, flowers, cans of beer, soda,
cash, small toys, and statues. People come into the tent to get advice
from the Spirit that that Medium channels.