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| For those who
have never heard of it, the name Vegetarian Festival
may not sound very interesting. But the festival
contains much more than what its name may suggest.
In fact, it is the most exciting, most significant
and most widely observed tradition of Phuket province.
It ranks with the Songkran of Chiang Mai, the
Spring Festival of Nakhon Sawan and the Loi Krathong
of Sukhothai as one of the most celebrated and
magnificent festivals of this country. |
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| ORIGIN |
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The Vegetarian Festival is a
religious event originating from China. It was
observed in Phuket for the first time in the
newly developed mining town of Kathu by a Chinese
opera company about 170 years ago.
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Kathu was then a thriving town
inhabited mostly by Chinese miners. As they
were well-to-do and in need of recreation, they
hired the troupe from China to give performances.
Everything went on smoothly and the troupe was
able to stay there for several months. Then
they were suddenly stricken by an epidemic and
the theatre was forced to close down.
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Part of the highlight of the
festival
is the Dragon Procession.
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| The trouble reminded
the leading members of the company of the religious
rites they had performed in China periodically
but that they had neglected to do since arriving
in Thailand. They were convinced that they were
being punished with the illness for their negligence.
So when the time came for the observance, the
whole troupe abstained from eating meat and animal
oil and performed religious rites for a period
of 9 days and 9 nights, in order to purify their
bodies and minds, and to get rid of evil. |
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Strange
to say, all the members of the troupe recovered
their health immediately afterwards. This caused
great curiosity to the local people. Some of them
did the same thing the next year and found it
beneficial both physically and mentally. The number
of people practising this increased year by year.
And now it has become a festival for the whole
island. Even people who are not Chinese in origin
nor related to Chinese by marriage take part in
it either because they share the same belief with
the Chinese or because they are attracted by the
accompanying activities that are so exciting and
fascinating.
The festival has undergone some changes in form
and content through the decades and has become
more and more colourful and entertaining. As practised
today, it has the following features:
Name -- The full name of the festival is
"Observe the Commandments and Abstain from
Meat". In fact, the former part is considered
more important than the latter, though it is not
perceptible to the outsiders. |
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Villagers usually get dressed
in
white on the ceremonial day.
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| Period
-- The festival normally lasts for nine days from
the 1st to the 9th of the 9th Chinese lunar month.
But this year it corresponds to the eleven-day
period from 25 September to 5 October. |
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Mediums who are in hypnosis
having their faces pierced with metal rings
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Dress -- The vegetarians,
male and female, young and old, are required
to dress in white during the entire period.
Food -- People observing the festival
should abstain from eating meat and animal oil
for at least one day. They can have their vegetarian
meals either at home or, preferably, at one
of the Chinese temples in and around Phuket
town. The meals at the temples are provided
free, but most people make a donation and have
their names registered first.
Religious rites -- Rites are performed
at more than ten temples at various times and
dates. The details about the rites and the temples
will be given by the organizers later.
Processions -- Long lines of devotees,
led by images of gods and priests, walk through
the streets in procession several times during
the festival. Onlookers lining along the streets
with large quantities of firecrackers prepared
in advance, light and throw them to the procession,
causing continuous deafening noises that are
heard miles away and adding great fun to the
occasion. No injury has ever been reported to
be caused by the explosions.
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| MAGICAL
PERFORMANCES |
For
the majority of people, these form the most absorbing
part of the festival. During the performances
of religious rites at the temples, the priests
conduct various kinds of dangerous acts to show
the power of their gods, to strengthen the faith
of their followers and to rid them of their bad
luck. These acts include walking barefoot across
a stretch of ground paved with burning charcoal,
climbing up and down, also barefoot, a stepladder
with a total of 72 cross-pieces made of sharp
iron blades, and cutting, striking or piercing
parts of the body with sharp or pointed objects.
With the exception of fire walking which is usually
done by ordinary believers, all these perilous
acts are performed by or to mediums who are in
hypnosis. Still, it seems inexplicable that they
always escape serious injury. When the rites are
over and the mediums regain consciousness, only
traces of cuts are left on the skin and these
are healed soon afterwards.
You may wonder whether the mediums have been hired
to do the job and whether they have been trained
beforehand. The reply is, they have not. All the
mediums act involuntarily. They are in a trance.
But they must have faith in the gods before they
can be hypnotized. So it is very unlikely for
a foreign tourist to gain the experience of a
medium during the festival. |
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| THE
TEN COMMANDMENTS |
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the name of the event suggests, observing the
commandments is the integral part of the festival.
According to a booklet issued by a shrine which
coorganizes the event, the 10 commandments are
as follows: |
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The atmosphere of the procession
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1.
Abstain from killing animals;
2. Abstain from eating all kinds of meat;
3. Abstain from stealth and embezzlement;
4. Abstain from harming others bodily or mentally;
5. Abstain from telling lies, using obscene language
or swearing at people; |
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A stepladder with cross-pieces
made of sharp iron blades
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6.
Abstain from touching people of the opposite sex
or talking with them flirtingly;
7. Abstain from taking alcohol or using narcotics;
8. Abstain from gambling;
9. Abstain from wearing ornaments including those
made of metals or leather;
10. Abstain from sharing receptacles or utensils
or a meal with people who do not observe the commandments. |
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A believer is walking across
a stretch
of ground paved with burning charcoal.
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| You
may wonder, if the festival is so solemn, why
it should have the appearance of a carnival. The
answer is that the participants are serious in
their faith. The entertaining performances are
given to attract crowds and to try to convert
them by making them believe in the powers of gods.
In this respect, the organizers have been very
successful as is evidenced by the ever increasing
numbers of participants in the event every year. |
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| A
TAOIST EVENT |
The
religious rites involved in the festival are entirely
Taoist in origin and have nothing to do with Buddhism,
as is shown by the following:
Two of the shrines co-organizing the festival
call themselves "Tao Bo Keng", or the
Temple of Tao Bo, which is a Taoist goddess believed
to be the mother of the gods of the Big Dipper.
The supreme god worshipped in the shrines is the
Jade Emperor, or Yok-Ong Songte as the local people
call him. He is the supreme god of Taoism.
The use of magic powers is an integral part of
Taoism, which in fact originated from witchcraft.
The gods invoked to preside over the festival
are called "Kiu Ong", which means "Nine
Heavenly Kings". Originally, the nine kings
meant the gods of the sun, the moon and seven
other heavenly bodies. They should still be so.
But they are now interpreted also to mean seven
Buddhas and two Bodhisattvas. This is an obvious
attempt to give the festival a Buddhist colour
to broaden its appeal. |
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| TAOIST
SHRINES |
| There
are six Taoist shrines jointly organizing the
festival activities in Phuket in recent years,
of which the oldest is the Kathu Shrine, located
in the County of Kathu 8 km to the west of the
provincial town of Phuket. The practice of fasting
in the 9th lunar month was first brought to Kathu
in 1825, when Kathu was a booming tin-mining town.
Of course, the shrine itself has been reconstructed
again during the long period of time. |
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During the ceremony, you can
see
self-hypnotized mediums with their
cheeks pierced through with sharp objects.
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Three of the shrines are located in the town of
Phuket -- Bangniao (or Thep Rasi) on Phuket Road,
Chuitui on Ranong Road and Lorong (or Sui Bun
Tong) off Phatthana Road. Bangniao and Chuitui
are both over 80 years old and Lorong was founded
in 1977 to share the burden of the other shrines.
Another shrine, Tha Rua, located near the Heroines
Monument, is also about 80 years old. It is dedicated
to Ngo Chinyin, another Taoist god. It did not
join the festival activities until 1968.
In short, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is exotic,
colourful and entertaining. It is a bonus to visit
Phuket during the festival period. Even if you
do not like noise and excitement, you can have
a glimpse of this peculiar event and then continue
to enjoy your holiday in the usual way. The beautiful
nature is not disturbed and the charming people
of Phuket are always there to welcome you.
For the detailed programme this year, you can
ask your hotel or the TAT office on Phuket Road
in Phuket, tel: 0 7621 1036,
0 7621 2213. |
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