The Vegetarian Festival. Such an innocent sounding name for such an….interesting…10 days. Just a few weeks ago I got to check out one of the most graphic festivals I have seen.
It all started back in 1825 when a travelling Chinese opera came to Phuket, but got sick from traveling theough jungle. They embarked on a vegetarian cleansing diet and were hence cured. This caught on with the locals who then decided to carry on the cleansing tradition once a year.
(Cleansing vegetarian food)
(Tina and Khun Arporn with offerings at the temple)
(Burning my offerings)
(Healing)
But it’s not all clean living, clean eating and wearing white. There is also self mutilation. Fire walking. Chanting. Processions. Bladed ladders and walking on beds of nails.
Why?!?
According to legend, gods possess devotees during this festival allowing them to manifest supernatural powers and perform self tortures in order to shift evil from individuals and onto themselves. This explains a lot.
(The possessed people heading out of the temple)
(Liz waiting with the possessed people on the beach for another blessing)
During the most spectacular part of this festival, devotees pierce themselves through the face with an object – and the bigger the object the better. Metal bars, swords, rifles and even trunks of trees. Once this has happened they parade through town and bless the individual alters outside homes as this is when they are possessed by the magnificent gods.
All these paradses sound great, unless you get caught up in them on the way to work and become surrounded by pierced possessed people throwing firecrackers.
(Cleaning up the dribbles of blood)
Through the 10 days I got up early and stayed up late in order to watch as much of it as I could. While I missed the ‘Calling’ and ‘Releasing’ of the spirits and the bladed ladder, I got to see a lot of other rituals.
(Walking across a bed of nails)
(Yes, the nails really are sharp!)
(Hot coal walking. Or running)
(Blessing the masses by flicking them with boiling hot water)
