Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016 to take place in October

The dates for the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival have been announced. For 2016, the festival will take place from the 1st to 9th of October. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is a world-renowned event, and something that must be seen while you are staying at Kata Ocean View Residences.

An overview of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Held annually, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is one of Phuket’s oldest festivals. It is spectacular to see, although not for the faint-hearted. An extremely colourful event, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is a deeply religious and cultural festival that focuses on the Nine Emperor Gods. Sacred rituals are performed throughout the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, and participants believe that both the festival and these sacred, sometimes garish rituals, bestow good fortune upon the community.

Throughout the nine days of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, Phuket local residents of Chinese ancestry tend to observe a strict vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of merit-making and spiritual cleansing. Throughout the festival, the streets come alive with vendors selling traditional Thai vegetarian food and vegan snacks making the festival a wonderful time to experience Thailand’s spin on these cuisines.

 

The entranced devotees

Scattered across the island are a wide variety of Chinese shrines and temples, and during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival rituals are performed at each one. Some of the more aesthetic displays include walking barefoot over burning coals and climbing ladders with bladed rungs. These displays are performed by the entranced devotees known as the ‘Ma Song’.

Translated, the Ma Song are entranced horses and during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival the gods enter the Ma Song devotees. Manifesting super natural powers throughout the festival, the Ma Song perform self-tortures and self-mutilations to shift evil away from individuals an onto themselves which in turn brings the community good luck.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival Parades and Processions

Throughout the nine days of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival there are many parades and processions. All of the island’s Chinese temples and shrines have activities daily and nightly and the sound of fireworks fills the air. Firecrackers are used to awaken the Nine Emperor Gods and invite them down from the heavens to Earth. Closer to the start of the festival, a comprehensive list of dates and times for the parades and processions becomes available.

Attending the Phuket Vegetarian Festival

The festival’s activities are scattered across the island, however, the biggest of the parades and processions tends to wind through the streets of Phuket Old Town before ending at the waterfront of Saphan Hin. Please observe local cultures and traditions during the festival, and be respectful. Even if you are not participating in the festival, when going to watch it is best to wear white clothes ensuring that shoulders and knees are covered.

Getting there

While staying at Kata Ocean View Residences, if you are interested in attending the Phuket Vegetarian Festival do speak with our helpful guest relations staff. They can help arrange transportation and answer any questions you might have about more local events and festivities.