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A remote cult in Thailand with a rather unusual practice came to light recently.
Cult led by "father of all religions"
The leader of the cult is a disheveled 75-year-old man sporting long grey hair and a beard.
His name is Thawee Nanra, and he proclaimed himself to be "the father of all religions", according to The Nation.
Image from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook.
Image from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook.
His followers refer to him as "phra bida", which is Thai for spiritual father, according to Bangkok Post.
Thawee claimed that this belief was not something that he had taught them. Instead, he said the belief had originated from his followers themselves.
His followers consumed his bodily excrements – saliva, mucus, urine, excrement, flaking skin and dandruff – and his cigarette butts as he told them these would cure them of all their diseases, according to Thaiger.
However, Thawee maintained that he never told his followers or forced them to do so.
Local police received tip-off
Local police and government authorities raided the cult's campsite on May 8 after they received a tip-off from Thai celebrity shaman, Jiraphan Phetkhao, according to The Nation.
A 53-year-old woman, Jenjira, whose 80-year-old mother went to the campsite and never returned home for a year, had sought help from the shaman.
Jiraphan said Jenjira's mother, Noi, was apparently forbidden from going home.
A victim had also complained that Thawee had "imprisoned" his followers.
Campsite operated under the radar
The campsite, which was regarded by the cult's followers as a "hermitage", was located in a forest in a village in Chaiyaphum's Khon San district.
When local authorities arrived at the hermitage, Thawee was found surrounded by his followers, which number around 30 to 50, in a large make-shift wooden hut with a roof constructed out of leaves.
They appeared to be middle-aged and elderly people, none of whom was wearing a face mask as protection against Covid-19.
Followers ate bodily excrements
All cult members told the local authorities that they believed Thawee was the "Father" and the "God" who could cure them of their diseases.
Some even "demonstrated" by drinking Thawee's urine and eating the skin flaking off of his arms.
The woman said only individuals with a "tainted mind" would smell the odour.
11 corpses discovered
At the hermitage, 11 corpses were discovered, one of which was the body of Thawee's mother.
Another corpse belonged to an unidentified one-year-old baby, according to Thaiger.
Image from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook.
The rest of the corpses belonged to Thawee's followers who had sought treatment from him for their various illnesses.
They died at the campsite, and apparently wanted their bodies to remain there for the "Father" to send them to "heaven".
However, according to a follower of the cult, anyone who devoted themselves to Thawee will not be able to leave the campsite or go home even after they have died.
These bodies were sealed in large bags and placed inside wooden coffins that were kept in the main hut and other satellite huts, according to The Nation.
Cult members slept beside some of these coffins, which were situated beside their beds in the same hut.
The corpses were not preserved and Thawee's followers had made holes at the bottom of the coffins and connected pipes to them so the fluids excreted could be drained.
Thawee arrested
Thawee was arrested on May 8, the day the cult came to light and when the hermitage was raided.
Image from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook.
This was despite the resistance put up by his followers, who attempted to prevent the police from taking their spiritual leader away.
He was arrested for the charges of encroaching on forest land, and violating the public health law and disease control act.
Five death certificates issued by local authorities were recovered from the campsite as well, according to Khaosod English.
All 11 corpses were seized by local authorities. Autopsies will be performed on them to determine the cause of death and the identities of the remaining six corpses.
Image from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook.
This may result in additional charges against Thawee, who is being detained at Khon San Police Station.
Following Thawee's arrest, a dozen of his followers went to the police station to wait for him.
He was apparently denied bail, according to Sydney Morning Herald.
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Top image screenshot from video from Jiraphan Phetkhao หมอปลาช่วยด้วย/Facebook