The Vegetarian Festival is observed nationwide on a
grand scale. The most famous place holding this festival
is absolutely Phuket province where the most spectacular
event takes place yearly. In other provinces such as
Trang, Songkhla (Hat Yai) and Chon Buri (Pattaya), people
of the Chinese descendants keep this festivals commonly.
During the Vegetarian Festival,
shops selling vegetarian food
are easily recognized by yellow flags.
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However, the most known part of the festival
as is shown through the media is the blood-curdling
presentations, such as, piercing the cheeks with a pointed
steel rod, walking barefoot on burning charcoal, sprinkling
oneself with boiling oil, cutting one's tongue and climbing
a ladder with rungs made of sharp blades.
The festival occurs yearly during the period from the
1st to the 9th of the 9th Chinese lunar month, which
corresponds to 11-19 October. During this time almost
all food shops and restaurants will fly yellow flags
signifying that vegetarian food is available there.
It is so convenient to have vegetarian meals during
this time.
The atmosphere of a morning before
the procession of mediums will
move through the city.
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In recent years, the Vegetarian Festival has become
more popular and has been increasingly observed by young
people. This is so because of the belief that the observers
will have better health and the purer mind and gain
merits from taking vegetarian foods. This aspect, though
being the main purpose of this festival, is less mentioned
than the spectacular processions.
There are several interesting perspectives of the festival.
Origin
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.
Vegetarian food
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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 an opera 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.
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.
Perhaps the most visible pictures of
the festival are those of the mediums
piercing themselves with strange objects.
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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.
Vegetarians in white clothes waiting
for the procession at their tables of offerings.
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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, in Phuket Island and other
provinces with numerous Chinese descendants. And now
it has become a festival for the whole country highlighting
provinces such as Phuket, Trang, Songkhla (Hat Yai county)
and Chon Buri (Pattaya) where grand-scale celebrations
take place.
The festival has undergone some changes in form and
content through decades and has become more and more
colourful and fascinating. Details of procedures are
different in different provinces. As practised today,
the vegetarian festival has the following features:
Along the streets through Phuket city, the
mediums who are believed to be possessed by
deities, will stop to receive offerings and
say a blessing.
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Name -- The full name of the festival
is "Observe the Ten Commandments and Abstain from
Meat".
Period -- The festival normally lasts
for nine days from the 1st to the 9th of the 9th Chinese
lunar month, as mentioned above. |
Dress -- All the vegetarians are required to dress in white
during the entire period as white signifies purity.
Food -- People observing the festival should abstain from
eating meat, animal oil and five pungent-odour vegetables,
viz. garlic, onion, Chinese chives, garlic chives and
tobacco. The vegetarians can have their vegetarian meals
either at home or at a Chinese temple nearby. In Phuket
the meals at the temples are provided free, but most
people make a donation and have their names registered
first. In Pattaya, in previous years, there were the
biggest pot and wok of vegetarian pha-lo and fried rice
to dole out to the vegetarians participating in the
festival.
Vegetarians receiving vegetarian food
provided by a shrine.
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Religious rites -- Rites are performed
at the Chinese temples at various dates and times. The
details will be given by the organizers beforehand.
Bathing oneself with boiling oil is
a ritual performed by mediums.
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Processions -- The best known exciting
and fascinating processions are those held in Phuket.
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
thunder-like noises that are heard miles away and adding
colours to the occasion. It is in processions that the
observers see some magical performances.
A medium is walking
barefoot on burning charcoal.
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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 or in the processions, the priests
or the mediums 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
crosspieces made of sharp iron blades, and cutting,
striking or piercing parts of the body with sharp or
pointed objects.
The
ritual of climbing up and down a sharp-iron-blade
stepladder barefoot. |
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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.
But they must have faith in the gods before they can
be possessed by the gods.
The
Ten Commandments
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;
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.
Along the way the procession passes,
the sound of firecrackers almost never stops.
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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 dangerous 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.
A
Taoist Event
The religious rites involved in the festival are entirely
Taoist in origin as is shown by the following:
The supreme god worshipped in the shrines of Phuket
is the Jade Emperor, or Yok-Ong Songte as the local
people call him. He is the supreme god of Taoism.
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.
In short, the Vegetarian Festival is a festival to
clean the body and mind. And it is a bonus to visit
Phuket or other participating provinces during the
festival period. Even if you do not like noise and
crowd, you can have a glimpse of this event and then
continue to enjoy your holiday in the usual way. The
beautiful nature is not disturbed and is always ready
to welcome you.
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