The streets are festooned with yellow flags bearing Chinese symbols. They perform many rituals and ceremonies at each Chinese temple. For the final seven days of the festival, the participants set off on great processions, marching through the streets banging drums and setting off firecrackers. The festival is most famous for Shaman who march in trances having self-mutilated themselves by skewering objects through their cheeks.
The Phuket vegetarian festival firstly took place in 1825 for stopping a epidemic killing lots of locals and Chinese mine workers, when somebody in a Chinese opera group performing there, suggested eating only veggies with specially cooked to stop the disease. That’s the way they began the festival, including religious ceremonies.
There are 10 rules that participants in the vegetarian festival must follow.
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. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pragnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Of course one of the 10 rules of the vegetarian festival is that participants must eat vegetarian food ('a-hahn jay' in Thai). Therefore there is a huge range of vegetarian food available. There will be vegetarian food stalls around all the participating temples and many of the local restaurants will also serve vegetarian food. It is also very healthy food so why not do your body a favour and get in the spirit of the vegetarian festival, at least for a few days.
One of the highlights of the festival is the processions. They take place on each of the final seven days of the festival. On each day, the different temples take turns to make a procession from their temple around Phuket Town and back again. It is the images from these processions that are broadcast around the world.
The processions are big affairs that can take an hour or more to pass. They generally start early in the mornings and finish before lunchtime although the temples also seem to have spontaneous processions around town at other times.
You will see dozens upon dozens of Shaman march passed with their entourages. They will have skewered their cheeks or other body parts with objects such as ornamental spears, swords and even stranger objects. They march through the town in a trance, shaking their heads from side to side and mumbling incantations. As they go, they will stop to bestow blessings on the people at the roadside, many of whom will have set up tables of offerings.
Throughout the procession a cacophony of drums and firecrackers pound and explode to scare away evil spirits. As well as the Shaman and their entourages, there are also other groups marching. Community groups, entertainers and schoolchildren join the march to add variety to the show.
Then there is the final march on the last night of the festival. This is a staggering spectacle and one of the absolute highlights of the festival. The fireworks start up in the early evening and do not let up until the procession is finished at around midnight.
However, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is exotic, colorful 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.