The Origins of The Vegetarian Festival
There are several variations of how the festival started, but the most commonly accepted is from the 19th century when a Chinese opera company travelled to Phuket to entertain the community of Chinese miners working in the area.
The story says that the whole opera company grew sick from an unknown illness. To combat the illness they followed a strict vegetarian (vegan) diet and prayed to the Nine Emperor Gods. To everyone’s amazement they all recovered.
As a result the festival began, during which time people keep a strict “jay” (vegan) diet with the aim of bringing good luck to the individual as well as to the community. This festival starts on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and continues until the ninth evening.
The festival is also a celebration of the Nine (Taoist) Emperor Gods and sometimes known as the Emperor Gods Festival.
‘Mah Song’
Although the festival is Chinese in origin, the Thai people have their own rituals that, to be honest, might turn your stomach.
Participants acting as mah song (mediums for the gods) enter a trance state and undergo ritualized mutilation that includes impaling their skin — usually cheeks, arms, and faces, but also legs, backs, and tongues — with objects of varying size.
Everything from needles to machetes are used. Other practices include slashing their tongues with swords and knives, climbing ladders made of blades, firewalking, and standing up close to exploding fireworks.
Carnival and Spectacle
Each mah song invites a God to possess his body. Then, he performs the self-mutilation without feeling any pain.
The spectators pay homage to the gods, that possess the bodies of the mah song, by lighting firecrackers when the mah song walk past.
What’s amazing is that scarring and stitches are uncommon, and most return to work shortly after they complete their ritual. Tourists are invited to attend the festival, take part in the processions, and snap photos.
The festival feels more like a carnival than a religious event, and is a lively, noisy, almost surreal celebration.
Vegetarian ‘Jay’ Food
Food is obviously a central theme to the festival and volunteers flock to the local temples to make food for all the participants and spectators. Food in the temple is free for anyone who would like to eat. The food is obviously all ‘Jay’ and very tasty!
Food stalls line the streets with ‘Jay’ snacks. Some are sweet, such as deep fried pandan dumplings, but many are savoury made of soy or other bean curds, shaped and coloured to look like pork, shrimp or squid.
Jay food is not just vegan, it also does not use certain strongly flavoured ingredients, namely onions and garlic. These are thought to ignite passion in the person eating them, making it harder for them to obey the other restrictions of the festival
Rules for Observing the Vegetarian Festival
The vegetarian ‘Jay’ festival is not just about what you eat. It’s about purity and cleanliness of mind and body.
For those who want to observe the festival there are 10 rules to follow:
- Do not kill animals
- Do not eat meat or animal products
- Do not steal
- Do not harm others physically or mentally
- Do not tell lies or swear
- Do not flirt or touch people of the opposite sex
- Do not drink alcohol or take drugs
- Do not gamble
- Do not wear ornaments, including those made of metal or leather
- Do not share utensils, cutlery or food with those who are not obeying the 10 rules
