Vegetarian Festival 2004

[Nicke]

Vegetarian Festival dates

PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2004, which runs officially from October 14 to 22, will get underway on the late afternoon of October 13 with lantern pole-raising ceremonies at all 11 participating Chinese Shrines.

Suwalai Pinpradap, head of the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that this year’s festival marks two particularly auspicious occasions – HM Queen Sirikit’s 72nd Birthday celebration and the 100th anniversary of the Bang Niew Shrine.

Highlights will include a large procession on October 14, starting at 7 am at Lan Nawamin Park on Phuket Rd and ending at Saphan Hin, with 72 participants receiving free white T-shirts.

All participants are encouraged to dress in white, the color of ritual purification that is central to the entire festival. At 6:30 pm there will be a “Worship of Gods” ceremony at Saphan Hin dedicated to HM the Queen.

The procession will also feature a lion dancing troupe from Nakhon Sawan province and free vegetarian fare, courtesy of 40 hotels. The event will be broadcast live around the country.

For those hoping to witness some of the more exotic spectacles associated with the festival, the TAT recommends the following:

October 18



7 pm: Kathu Shrine – Hot Oil Bathing

October 19

8 pm: Jui Tui Shrine – Fire Walking (at Saphan Hin); Yokkekeng Shrine – Fire Walking; Jengong Shrine – Fire Walking; Ban Tha Reua Shrine – Fire Walking.

9 pm: Sui Boon Tong Shrine – Fire Walking; Sapam Shrine – Fire Walking.

October 20

8 pm: Bang Niew Shrine – Bladed Ladder Climbing; Limhutaisu Shrine (Samkong) – Bladed Ladder Climbing.

8:45 pm: Bangkoo Shrine – Bladed Ladder Climbing

Two street processions are also particularly famous for displays of self-mutilation by Ma Song – individuals who believe they have been possessed by gods and mutilate themselves in an effort to save the community from evil.

The first, on October 19, is a procession from Bang Niew Shrine to Saphan Hin, starting at about 7 am. On October 20, devotees from Jui Tui Shrine will begin their procession to Saphan Hin at 8 am.

For more information contact the TAT Region 4 Office at 076-212213; 076-211036.