Phuket Vegetarian Festival, or Nine Emperor Gods Festival, is a nine-day Taoist celebration that usually runs for the first nine days of the 9th lunar month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The event celebrates the local Chinese community’s belief that abstinence from meat and other negative stimulants during the festival will lead to overall good health and a clear mind.
Traditional Celebrations
The most bizarre aspect of the festival is not that everyone becomes a vegetarian for a week or so but that some participants, known as "mah song," believe they can allow certain spirits and gods to enter their bodies, making them feel no pain. These individuals perform macabre self-mutilations during the festivities, piercing their cheeks with diverse objects such as beach umbrellas, knives, and bike chains. This bizarre scene, not for the faint-hearted, offers a unique experience.
Location
The ceremonies take place in the vicinity of six Chinese temples in Phuket, with the main temple being the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town. The festival begins with the Raising of the Lantern Pole, a ritual that notifies the nine Chinese gods of the start of the event. Once the 10-meter-tall pole is erected, celebrants believe the Hindu god Shiva descends to bring spiritual power to the festival.
Processions
Over the next few days, the local Chinese/Thai community brings their household gods to the temple, along with offerings of food and drink, to receive an annual injection of spiritual energy. Visitors can observe and participate in the lighting of joss sticks and candles, placing them around the various gods. Street processions feature participants walking in a trance, running across a bed of burning coals, and climbing an 8-meter ladder of sharp blades. Besides the visual spectacle, attendees can enjoy vegetarian dishes sold at street stalls and markets around the island.
Origins of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival was founded by some Chinese miners who worked here back in the 19th century. They believed that disease struck them because of neglecting some religious traditions. Therefore, they decided to purify their bodies, as Chinese tradition would have it, by eating only small amounts of special food as well as abstaining from eating meat. The ritual helped, and over the years, it has become a major festival of purification that is believed to bring good health and luck.
