Phuket Vegetarian Festival

The largest island in Thailand, the most populous and the most popular one- Phuket is a major watershed in the tourism industry of Thailand. And festivals and events in Phuket are more than you can even think of. In this cosmopolitan island there are festivals for every faith, every religion every race, and every kind of tourist for that matter. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival celebrated in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar (October) is also a Chinese festival that is marked by severe self torture willingly undertaken by the devotees. The food offered or prepared during the festival is, as the name suggests, vegetarian.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival spans over a period of 9 days where the devotees join in a parade that starts from the shrines at Phuket. They perform self-mortification rites like walking on burning charcoal, body piercing and suspending weights from the pierced body parts, and parading on the streets in that condition. These devotees are supposedly possessed by Daoist Gods and can be seen walking the parade in a state of trance. During the nine days of the festival, the Chinese abstain from meat or any non-vegetarian food.

The exact origins of the festival are unknown. It is assumed to have been brought to Phuket by a traveling opera group. The members of the group are said to have fallen ill with malaria while performing on the island. To recover from it, 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 in the honor of the gods and to pay homage to them that is Phuket Vegetarian Festival.