Last Thursday two friends told me that they were going to an Angel party that evening and they asked me if I wanted to go with them. This is a Thai party, my friend told me, where people-who-happen-also-to-be-angels are taken over by spirits; they go into a trance.
Most Thais believe in ghosts; mediums are admired and monks are consulted to gain auspicious names for babies, lucky dates to get married or open businesses. From what I gathered Thai people believe some people are angels. You can’t choose to be one; you are or you aren’t. When you are possessed by the spirit you can do all sorts of things that you couldn’t normally do. Coincidentally, this month the magazine Traversing the Orient covered a photographer who had delved into this spiritual part of Thai life.
The longer I am in Thailand, the less I seem to understand.
Enough with the talk; I didn’t learn enough to understand exactly what was going on and I think I need time to process it. Suffice to say that three western women turned up to a Thai community party about an hour out of Bangkok and we were welcomed most generously, given free food, and allowed to take pictures. Here are some of mine:
My friend Claire's YouTube of the evening is here.
