The Nine Emperor Gods Festival: Purity and Possession is a powerful cultural exploration of one of Thailand's most intense and visually striking spiritual traditions. Blending sacred Taoist cosmology with the vibrant devotion of Thai-Chinese communities, this book offers readers an immersive journey into a nine-day festival that transforms city streets and temple grounds into sacred spaces of possession, fire-walking, ritual purity, and spiritual ecstasy.

At the heart of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a profound desire for purification and connection with the divine. Through abstinence, vegetarian discipline, spirit mediumship, and communal rituals, participants undergo physical and spiritual transformation. Author and researcher Montree Sandee takes readers deep into this world—unpacking the origins of the Nine Emperor Gods in Chinese Taoist belief, their journey into Thai-Chinese diaspora life, and the rich ritual language that surrounds their veneration in modern Thailand.

From the trance states of temple mediums in Songkhla to the dramatic fire-walking processions of Phuket's shrines, each chapter uncovers a layer of cultural meaning, personal devotion, and communal identity. This is not merely a book about a festival—it is a reflection on how sacred ritual continues to shape lives in a rapidly modernizing world.

The book also sheds light on spiritual cleansing practices, the significance of ritual abstinence, the psychological depth of trance ceremonies, and the sociocultural impact of these traditions. Drawing on interviews, historical sources, and ethnographic observation, Sandee offers both scholars and general readers a respectful and compelling window into Thailand's spiritual diversity.

This volume is part of the Sacred Thai: Ghosts, Beliefs, and Rituals in Thai Culture series, which explores the role of ghosts, ancestors, ritual performance, and local cosmologies in Southeast Asia. Other volumes in the series include Calling the Soul, Cleaning the Grave, Not All Spirits Are Angry, and Laying the Dead. Each book stands alone while offering a cumulative portrait of how belief, ritual, and memory flow through Thai life.

Ideal readers include:

Subtle yet informative, this book weaves themes of devotion, sacred embodiment, fire symbolism, and community resilience. It addresses not only the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Thailand, but also the broader meanings of sacred transformation in diasporic Taoist practice.

For anyone drawn to ritual possession, vegetarian festivals, or the intersection of belief and performance in Asia, this work offers a memorable and respectful guide. Montree Sandee writes with both heart and precision, making this a vital addition to books about religion, folklore, and cultural tradition in modern Thailand.