Eating vegetables festival
Phuket Vegetarian festival 2024
Running through fire, self mutilation and eating tofu, that’s just some of the ways people in Phuket honour the Nine Emperor Gods.
The origin of the festival comes from an opera troupe of Hokkien-speaking Taoists from China’s Fujian province who were touring Phuket during an epidemic in 1825. They believed the plague was related to them not sufficiently worshipping the gods.
They began eating a plant-based diet and performed sacred rituals to appease the gods and the epidemic passed.
Since then, the people of Phuket have celebrated and given thanks with a carnival-like atmosphere every year.
This is a collection of photos from the few events we managed to attend.
Procession of the Buddha
In the early hours, 6:45am to be exact, a Procession of the Buddha set of from Lim Hu Tai Su Shrine (Sam Kong Shrine).
We didn’t have it in us to get up that early so we got a coffee at our hotel and waited to see people pass us in their ceremonial white clothes. We followed them to meet the parade near old town.
Neither of us had any white clothes so we were hoping to look like tourists who just stumbled across the procession.
We arrived to huge crowds gathered along the footpath. The beginning of the procession was like a typical parade: some banners celebrated the day and some advertised a local business.
A group of women were handing out juice and pastries. I turned them down at first. In Phuket, tourists outnumber locals 118 to one so you’re really conscious not to overstep. The women were insistent and I gave in.
Despite those over-tourism figures, there was hardly a farang in the crowd. Most of the faces recognisable as tourists were usually covered by fancy cameras. It’s a hugely appealing event for an amateur photographer.
I made my way through the crowd, looked for a good spot to get my photos and began snapping.
As the floats passed feint bangs could be heard in the distance. These grew louder, becoming fireworks and drumbeats.
The crowd launched the fireworks at the people in the procession and they just powered through it no matter where it hit them. Before I knew what they were doing one exploded beside me. Who threw that at me? I thought. They don't want me here. Why didn’t I just buy a white top? I turned to see a smiling old man who kindly waved an apology and I hoped I didn’t show any anger on my face.
Soon after, these bangers were everywhere. The floats, which were carried like sedan chairs, started rocking side to side, smoking and sparking. Their carriers seemed to struggle keeping them up.
The festival has a reputation for being gory. While there’s obviously more to it than gore, you can understand why that’s what people remember.
The next part of the procession exhibited the festival’s tradition of self-mutilation while in a trance-like state. For this custom almost any part of the body can be pierced by objects of any size. On this particular march these ranged from small needles to an anchor.
Some marchers can also be seen slashing their tongues with an axe. It is said that devotees feel calm and focused in their daily lives following these rituals.
Fire Walking Ritual
Near Jui Tui Shrine, we witnessed a fire walking ritual in the evening.
After we ate dinner we went for a walk through the town and stumbled across a market with hundreds of vegan stalls. The market covered a good 15 minute walk and led us right to the temple.
Donuts, kebabs, curries, buns, all types of drinks were on offer - most importantly, there were free samples. Unfortunately, we had just ate so I couldn’t eat much. I still did eat much though, so much I felt sick.
We got to the fire early, went to a bar to pass the time until 8pm. We waited an hour after it was due to start then went to the shop to get a break from standing.
Of course, it began while we were gone and we lost our place. It was still fantastic to watch, even if we were forced to constantly find space between hundreds of silhouetted bobbing heads.
The long jump run-up style sprints across the fire were very different to the kung-fu movie composure I had imagined but regardless, their devotion was admirable.
Farewell Ritual
For us, the final day started with another Procession of the Buddha, which started at 7am at Sui Boon Tong Shrine.
Everything was dialled up to 11 on the last day. The crowds threw more fireworks than ever.
The people participating in the march gave blessings to onlookers.
Then we attended the Farewell Ritual, not that we could have avoided it anyway. It covers nearly every street in the city.
The “sending off” of the Gods is done through a ritual at midnight. For a few hours before that, the place is rocking. Everyone is launching all kinds of fireworks. You see children and pensioners lobbing them into the parade with the intention of hitting the marchers.
It’s like a warzone. You have no idea where the next explosion will come from and the entire town is subsumed in smoke.