Have you noticed strings of small yellow flags strung around market place? Some are on sticks planted in food trays. The elegant red Chinese calligraphy on them reads "jey" (in taechew dialect) meaning ‘vegetarian’. When you get closer to Chinese communities, you can see more and more yellow flags. Another prominent colour you can anticipate in those areas is white, the colour of the clothing vegetarians put on through the nine days of the festival.
The Vegetarian Festival is an annual colorful event held during late September/early October. This annual festival in Thailand is celebrated by the local Chinese community‘s belief that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite.
During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe nine day vegetarian or vegan diet, abstinence from meat and various stimulants for the purposes of spiritual cleansing, peace of mind and merit-making.
Festival dates change slightly every year as it is held in conjunction with the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This year the festival falls at the end of September, Starting on September 28' 2008 and finishing on October 7' 2008. (Actually 10 days, so the first day is pre cleaning day)
Though, the origins of the festival are unclear. This festival is believed to be a tradition imported into Thailand by Chinese immigrants. It is thought that perhaps the festival was bought to Phuket by a wandering Chinese opera group who fell ill with malaria while performing on the island. They decided to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet and pray to the Nine Emperor Gods who would ensure purification of the mind and body. On recovery, the people celebrated by holding a festival that was meant to honor the gods as well as express the people's happiness at surviving what was, in the nineteenth century, a fatal illness.
At Phuket Vegetarian Festival
During the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, you may wonder whether you are actually in Thailand. The whole place takes on a carnival-like atmosphere and the streets are decorated with flowers. Streets are filled with vegetarian food stalls offering an amazing array of dishes, juices and fruit. Everywhere you look there are clothing stalls, selling white cotton outfits of all shapes and sizes and orange ceremonial candles and incense.
One of the most exciting aspects of the festival is the various, (and sometimes gruesome) ceremonies which are held to invoke the gods.
This colorful event, held every year in Phuket is a visually stunning religious celebration with vegetarian cuisine, processions and events, the like of which you have never seen before.
Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as fire walking (barefooted over hot coals), body piercing, ascending ladders with bladed rungs and other acts of self mortification undertaken by participants acting as mediums of the gods. Men and women puncture their cheeks with various items including knives, skewers and other household items. We can call them as "Ma Song". It is believed that the Chinese gods will protect such persons from harm, and little blood or scarring results from such mutilation acts.
"Ma Song Photo"
This is definitely not recommended for the feint hearted to witness.
Ma Song, or entranced horses, are devotees whom the gods enter during the festival. They manifest supernatural powers and perform self-tortures in order to shift evil from individuals onto themselves, and to bring the community good luck. Ma Song fall into two categories: those who, having had an intimation of impending doom, want to extend their lives; and people specially chosen by the gods for their moral qualities.
Throughout the festival fireworks and drums are sounded, especially during ceremonies. It is held that the louder they are the better, because the noise drives away evil spirits.
Participants in the fest keep to a strict vegetarian diet for a varying number of days, usually no less than three. This they do to make themselves strong in mind and body; they refrain from all vice, eating animal flesh, and killing animals. The festival thus promotes good hygiene, brightness and inner peace.
Ma Song, or entranced horses, are devotees whom the gods enter during the festival. They manifest supernatural powers and perform self-tortures in order to shift evil from individuals onto themselves, and to bring the community good luck. Ma Song fall into two categories: those who, having had an intimation of impending doom, want to extend their lives; and people specially chosen by the gods for their moral qualities.
Throughout the festival fireworks and drums are sounded, especially during ceremonies. It is held that the louder they are the better, because the noise drives away evil spirits.
Participants in the fest keep to a strict vegetarian diet for a varying number of days, usually no less than three. This they do to make themselves strong in mind and body; they refrain from all vice, eating animal flesh, and killing animals. The festival thus promotes good hygiene, brightness and inner peace.
10 Rules for the Vegetarian Festival
The festival always falls on the first days of the ninth Chinese lunar month, and for nine days participants observe the following commitments:
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils and to use them separately from other who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. Avoid eating meat
6. Avoid sex
7. Avoid alcohol
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Tourists and casual onlookers may view this as more of a carnival celebration than a religious observance. The festival draws huge crowds from other Asian countries, and the main hotels in Phuket Town are often booked-up way in advance. This is a significant date on the calendar for Phuket’s large Chinese community, and during this time local residents will normally follow a strict 10 vegetarian day diet, in order to cleanse themselves spiritually and to make merit.
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