For those living in the far Western corners of the globe and unfamiliar to the durian, in Southeast Asia, the durian is labeled and widely known as the king of fruits in Southeast Asia, specifically in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei. With sizes ranging from a large fist to as big as a person’s head, the durian is very thorny, has a very hard shell and always handles with care. Stalls selling durians in Southeast Asia are usually manned with storekeepers wearing thick farmer gloves. The husk when split open with a knife bears edible thick flesh that tastes sweet and savory.

While the durian is mostly known as a fruit, a group of mediums in Malaysia are taking the thorny fruit to the next level and having a game of football and doing numerous other tricks with it. Calling themselves the “Malaysian Medium Football Team”, a group of sixteen mediums from a temple in Klang, Selangor, celebrate their deity’s birthday with a show of skills with the king of fruits.

Performing displays not for the faint of heart, the group usually ends up covered in blood after a game of masterful passing, shooting and heading, much to the amazement and horror of the audience. Stopping only if the fruit is split open and needing to be replaced, these mediums seem to be in trance while they are playing Extreme Football, stating the only pain they feel when they kick the durian, is like being bitten by mosquitoes. Although they do not wow the crowd with step-overs ala Cristiano Ronaldo or hit powerful missile-like free kicks like Roberto Carlos, every kick of the durian draws an audible gasp or draw of breath from the crowd. The gasps only get louder when trickles of blood start forming on their bare feet.

The mediums do not stop at a game of football. Their members, twenty six in all, ranging from a 17 year old youth to a 73 year old grandfather, perform other wince-inducing and breathtaking stunts and acts during their demonstration. They split durians with their bare hands, a near impossible feat since the husk and outer exterior of the durian is very thick. They turn into chopping boards when other members use their bodies to slice open pineapples. They get durians thrown at their chests to split it open. They wrap themselves with lit firecrackers.

While it may all sound like a cheap carnival act, these mediums dismiss any speculations of cheating. While some have attributed the success of their acts by applying anesthetic cream, the mediums swear of no use of any form of creams of pills that could assist them with their demonstrations, indicating that the demonstrations were done successfully due to their sheer willpower and strength.

The mediums perform in public three to four times a year during their temple celebrations and have maintained that they do not perform to seek any commercial gain, stating it would be disrespectful to their deities. With the performance only in its third year, the group is growing in numbers, from a minute 16 to the current 26. This can only mean two things; these demonstrations will not cease to exist anytime soon and with the growing number of members, they can soon form a five-a side durian football tournament.

While playing durian football sounds gory and exciting, I wonder if these mediums perform a goal celebration when they get a durian into the back of the net. Maybe they should incorporate new goal celebrations like performing cartwheels on durians or doing a forward roll into a bunch of durians. I bet that would hurt more than being bitten by mosquitoes and a new demonstration worth watching!