Gaybutton Posted October 10, 2009 Posted October 10, 2009 The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Swords, Spirits and Salad Published on October 10, 2009 Phuket's Vegetarian Festival kicks off in just eight days. Be there While tourists sunbathe on the white sandy beaches and swim in the deep blue sea, residents in downtown Phuket are busy gearing up for the annual vegetarian festival. Celebrated by the Chinese community on the island that's best known for its palm-fringed beaches, stylish and rustic-chic resorts and laid-back attitude, the annual Vegetarian Festival showcases Phuket's mystical side. A combination of vegetarian food, peaceful chants, ear-splitting firecrackers and mind-blowing processions, visitors to the island should make a point of heading into town to see a very different side to the Pearl of the Andaman. The Vegetarian Festival, which runs from October 18 to 26, has been an annual event merit-making for more than 150 years. It is believed to have started in the town of Kathu by a visiting theatre troupe from China. Struck down by a mysterious epidemic, the entertainers decided they had fallen ill because they had failed to pay proper respects to the nine Emperor Gods of Taoism. As penance, they erected Chinese temples and held a vegetarian festival to ward off any residual bad luck. According to local legend, the unorthodox remedy worked and the annual vegetarian festival has been held ever since. Abstention from sex and alcohol were added in later years for absolute purification. From next Sunday, the whole town will fly yellow flags to mark the beginning of the spiritual retreat. On the eve of the festival, a large pole is raised in each Chinese shrine, and the nine emperor gods are invited to descend from the heavens and take part in the ceremonies. At midnight, nine lanterns are lit and hung on the poles, meaning that the annual Vegetarian Festival has begun. Food stalls fly yellow little flags to indicate they serve only vegetarian food and devotees dress in white for the entire nine days to show they intend to remain pure. While vegetarian food is tempting and the Chinese shrines are gaily decorated, most visitors focus on the "maa song" or the mediums the gods enter during the festival. The maa song manifest supernatural powers and perform self-mutilation so they can absorb evil from other individuals and ensure good luck for the entire community. Each morning begins with processions through the town. At dawn, one can find scores of young men thronging the inner sanctums of the temples, preparing themselves for self-mutilation. At the base of the shrines, they go into a trance, begin speaking in tones and don colorful aprons with Taoist symbols, looking on as doctors make cuts at both sides of their mouths. The festival culminates with a procession of people deep in a trance, piercing their tongues, cheeks and other parts of their anatomy with spears, daggers, sharpened branches and anything else that comes to hand. Possessed by the spirits of nine deities, these ascetic devotees apparently feel no pain and show little sign of real injury. If you go Quote
