Locally referred to as the Kin Jay Festival, the PhuketVegetarian Festival is a festival of the Nine Emperor Gods festival in Phuket. An annual event, the vegetarian festival is a misnomer and is primarily celebrated by the Chinese communities in Thailand. It goes on for nine days and is considered one of the country's most bizarre and extreme festivals. Devotees usually gave up meat for these nine days, while some even pierced their cheeks with swords, climbed ladders made with knife blades, and walked on hot coals to show their devotion to the nine emperor gods.
Participate in the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2024 - Dates
The festival starts on the first day of the 9th Chinese lunar month. It usually takes place near the six scattered Chinese temples throughout Phuket. in 2024, it will held from 2nd October to 11th October
Witness the Festival - Venue
Jui Tui Shrine is this festival's main temple and is close to the Fresh Market in Phuket Town.
Culture of the Phuket Veg Festivities
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According to the locals, this festival is a way of making the gods happy. Also, they feel that abstaining from anything that is not pure for these nine days will help them to lead a happy and healthy life for the next whole year.
Traditions and Rituals
Phuket Vegetarian Festival is not at all sober in any way. It is lively, full of devotees, loud, and chaotic. The festival begins with a ten-metre-tall Lantern Pole erected at a significant place. This Pole is believed to notify the Chinese Gods about the festivities' beginning. The revelers also believe that Lord Shiva, the Hindu God, descends to bring spiritual powers to the event. Mah songs – considered the forever unmarried people – pierce their cheeks with large spears and hooks. Some of them also carry out processions while throwing firecrackers and chanting mantras. Also, a special lion dance is performed in the crowd. The locals distribute orange clothes and papers among the group, which they believe are for good luck.
The local Chinese and Thai communities bring their household deities to the temple during this festival and offer them food and drinks. They believe that doing so will help their household gods to get an annual dose of spiritual power, which will benefit the people living in the house throughout the year.
During this festival, the devotees are expected to abstain from meat, alcohol, sex, and healthy foods like onion and garlic, wear white, and keep pure thoughts in mind.
Pregnant and menstruating women, and also the ones who are mourning, are not supposed to be a part of this festival ceremonies.
All the participating food joints usually fly a yellow flag with some red Chinese sayings, which are believed to attract good luck.
All restaurants are usually closed during these nine days, and only a few select food kiosks operate for the visitors at the marketplaces.
The famous Thai noodle dishes are prepared without even a trace of fish sauce and meat. The vegetarian food which is available in the markets during this festival looks identical to chicken and pork; however, they are vegetarian. Even the usage of dairy products and eggs is prohibited during this time.
During this festival, the devotees only wear white dresses as they feel that it’s the purest color of all.
The Backstory of the Festival
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Although the exact origin of this festival is not yet known, the locals believe that it was brought to Thailand by a group of Chinese opera artists in 1825. Due to a malaria epidemic, the community decided to adopt a strict vegetarian diet praying relentlessly to the Nine Emperor Gods to ensure total purification of their mind and body. And to everyone’s wonder, the opera group fully recovered within a few days. The group celebrated their improvement with a unique festival to honor the Gods and to express their happiness at surviving, as Malaria was a fatal illness in the 19th Century. Since then, the Chinese locals of Thailand started celebrating this festival annually, and today, people from all around the globe visit Phuket to be a part of this festivity.
Phuket Vegetarian Festival is all about extremities. Hence, it’s better not to take children along. You can participate in the processions and walk with the devotees in a trance.
While enjoying the festivities, do not forget to gorge on the delicious festival special vegetarian delicacies that will be readily available in all the restaurants and food stalls.
If you cannot reach the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket, which is the main temple for the festival, you can experience the celebrations at other shrines, namely Phut Jaw, Bang Niew, Kathu, and Cherng Talay.
The peak celebrations happen on the ninth and the final day of the festival when all the devotees carry out a farewell frenzy for sending all the nine Gods back home.
So, if you are planning a trip to Thailand this year, you can club your beach holiday with a few days in Phuket during this festival to observe a different kind of atmosphere. The celebrations are indeed a bit frightening for most, but the fact remains that it will show you a different side of the otherwise funny and chirpy Thai locals, which you probably shouldn’t miss as a traveler. It usually takes place near the six scattered Chinese temples throughout Phuket.
