Ya Sang: Traditional Poisons of Thailand

In North-eastern Thailand, the region known as Isaan, traditional practices still continue, although they may not be too obvious to the outsider. One such practice is that of ya sang, the witchcraft poisons of vengeance and misery. These are prepared from secret formulae handed secretly down through the generations. Women have a reputation for making particularly virulent ya sang and so it is better not to cross or betray them. Then again, men are more likely to resort to armed confrontation and it would probably be better not to cross or betray them either.

There are three types of ya sang. The first is ya pit, which is created from a mixture of various poisonous plants and the bones of the fire cobra (hao fai), all mixed together and left to ferment in rice whisky for a few hours. Whoever drinks ya pit will suffer great pain and die within four or five hours.

The second type of ya sang is the 'stomach-destroying poison,' which is also fatal but which can, by dint of various complicated rituals, be prepared in such a way as to cause death at a specified time (from 7 to 120 days) after the victim eats a specific type of food. A poisonous plant from a highland jungle is required for this kind of poison. The third type of ya sang is the 'intoxicating or fumigative poison,' which also uses the same wan plant but is mixed with the victim's food. He or she will then fall into a morbid sleep for between one to ten hours. If fumigation of the victim is required, i.e. burning or smoking out an illness, magical spell or curse, then it will be necessary to prepare a male toad of the type known as chong-kroang. This toad is about the size of a man's palm and has rough, nodular skin which has a nauseating odour. The toad may be found in the jungle either resting by the side of a stream or else hiding in a hollow tree. The toad should be dried over the fire, with the one in charge being careful not to inhale the fumes. This helps to produce a magical powder which may be sprinkled on a fire and the fumes blown towards the one who is to be fumigated.

There are remedies against all of these types of poison but it is necessary to know how the poison has been administered and of what nature it is. Extensive and complicated rituals will also be almost certainly necessary.

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