Watch the video clips of Tangki Night 2003 in action (Part 1)

You may have heard about, read about and seen the photos of Tangkis. Now watch them get possessed by the divine deities in action!

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Tangki Possession

Date: 7 December 2003
Location:  Ong Siong Tong, No. 75 Jalan Dusun, Singapore

	When a Tangki started to be possessed, he/she would hysterically lose control of herself. Like in this one here, she banged her body violently on the floor, painfully and bitterly she squeezed and twisted her body. It was as if some force inside her combating with her own soul. This is a rare footage of how a female tangki being possessed with such drastic effects. Click here to download video clip (25.7Mb)
	This is another example of how a Tangki cannot control himself in the process of being possessed. A group of assistants had to surround him, support him, some even covered the corner of the table by hand in case he accidentally hit on it. In this video clip, the tangki, after being possessed, would request for putting on his designated robe. The body pattern exhibited just like the deity himself back to the ancient time. Click here to download video clip (14.5Mb)
	This is a truly amazing example of how Tangki would exhibit her unique body pattern by the deity. She stretched her legs flat and bent her body backward like rubber-band. The body became incredibly elastic and hence can post some difficult postures like those only acrobats can do. We wonder if she could usually do this or only after being possessed by the deity? You would notice that she was being careful when she was posting the intricate postures that shows she was quite conscious up to certain extent. Click here to download video clip (32.3Mb)
	What was she doing now? She was supposed to come forward to the heavenly altar on the other side and pay respect. This is the Chinese belief that gods have hierarchy in Taoism. When a deity descent to earth, he/she would have to greet the deity of a higher rank. In this case, it was the Jade Emperor. Notice that she walked like dancing, in a unique traditional fashion. If the tangki phenomenon is true, does it mean that the deity when he was once a mortal on earth behave like this? Click here to download video clip (12.1Mb)
	The Tangki was now being dressed up, in his usual costume. Silently he let the assistants put on the garments, piece by piece. He would wait till the dressing up is done. That shows the deity who possessed the tangki 'knows' what is happening around him. He could interact, often by body language though he can't properly speak. The little boy next to him is the youngest assistant in the group. He was carrying a slaying staff sword. The staff sword was the deity's favorite weapon. Click here to download video clip (7.3Mb)
	Out of a sudden, after the dressing was done, the tangki grabbed the sword staff and quickly ran out of the tent. That was quite unexpected. At the street side, he was holding the sword staff on one hand, and the command flag on the other. He was pointing the divine balloon by the flag, mumbling out some funny words, "Zhhhhiii... Zzzzhhuuu, Zhuu...". This stunt must have some meaning. Is it a gesture of calling other spirits via the balloon? Nonetheless, he was communicating with the balloon. Click here to download video clip (3.6Mb)
	In this video clip, you will see again how the possessed tangki interacted with the assistants in body language. The deity repeated requested for green charm-papers, and he used the tangki's hand to scribble some spells on them. He opened his hand and hit on the table to make a signal. No word was spoken. Later on, we asked Master Roland what was the use of the green color charm-papers. He replied that they would be used to cover the incense urns so to keep away evil spirit (from entering the urns??) Click here to download video clip (25.6Mb)
	Similarly this Tangki jolted and jerked in a dramatic way when he moved. This appears to be in common about how tangkis walk, different from normal paces. The tangki got up from the three Mao Shan deities altar (those that possess them), brought over the joss-sticks across the tent to the heavenly altar on the other side, and offered them to the Jade Emperor. As far as we have observed, this is something that all the tangkis would have to do in this event. Click here to download video clip (9Mb)
	At the end of the possession, one of our SPI members asked the female tangki about how did she feel, whether the arms are painful or not. Click here to download video clip (11.7Mb)
	The interview continued. She was sharing with us her feelings, her experience on tangki possession. The dialogue however was in Mandarin. Click here to download video clip (18.4Mb)
If you have any trouble in downloading the video clips for any reason, you may request for a copy sent out to you by email, by quoting the file name(s). But please make sure your mailbox has enough quota to receive the large files.