lonelywombat
October 5th, 2008, 04:42
Friend planning a trip to Phuket wanted to find a vegetarian restaurant and found this 6 videos of the streetparade
The knives through the cheek pic end of this ,I have seen performed before in Indonesia during the horse trance dance
http://www.phuketvegetarian.com/index_eg.htm
Phuket Vegetarian Festival : 28 September - 07 October 2008
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song".
--------------------------------------------------------
This news report on foxnews is a little bit over the top
Doctors in Phuket, Thailand, are warning vegetarians at the annual Chinese Vegetarian Festival that piercing their faces with knives, axes, spades and beach umbrellas could expose them to health risks.
Each year, health authorities warn devoted Buddhists that тАЬMa Song,тАЭ the ritualistic self-infliction of pain, could cause HIV/AIDS and hepatitis infections. And every year, adherents walk barefoot over smoldering coals, climb ladders with rungs made of knife blades and bathe in hot oilтАФall in pursuit of spiritual trance which will earn good luck for themselves and their neighbors.
тАв Click here for photos.
According to local legend, Ma Song or тАЬentranced horsesтАЭ possess the bodies of devotees and perform self-torture to absorb the evil from their host bodies to themselves. тАЬHandlersтАЭ are assigned to entranced devotees to escort them around town with spears, poles and lanterns protruding from their skin, according to the festivalтАЩs Web site, PhuketVegetarian.com.
Celebrants keep a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet for part of all of the 10-day festival to avoid inflicting pain and suffering on any life form, with the exception of themselves.
The Phuket Public Health Office advises adherents to sterilize the instruments before inserting them into the skin and тАЬtake stepsтАЭ to prevent viral and bacterial infection, the Phuket Gazette reports.
тАЬApart from the risks associated with sharp objects, we are also checking to ensure that proper hygiene is being maintained at food stalls by giving advice to vendors,тАЭ the health office told the newspaper. Samples of vegetarian food is inspected for safety, the health office reassures.
Click here to visit the Phuket festival's Web site.
The knives through the cheek pic end of this ,I have seen performed before in Indonesia during the horse trance dance
http://www.phuketvegetarian.com/index_eg.htm
Phuket Vegetarian Festival : 28 September - 07 October 2008
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song".
--------------------------------------------------------
This news report on foxnews is a little bit over the top
Doctors in Phuket, Thailand, are warning vegetarians at the annual Chinese Vegetarian Festival that piercing their faces with knives, axes, spades and beach umbrellas could expose them to health risks.
Each year, health authorities warn devoted Buddhists that тАЬMa Song,тАЭ the ritualistic self-infliction of pain, could cause HIV/AIDS and hepatitis infections. And every year, adherents walk barefoot over smoldering coals, climb ladders with rungs made of knife blades and bathe in hot oilтАФall in pursuit of spiritual trance which will earn good luck for themselves and their neighbors.
тАв Click here for photos.
According to local legend, Ma Song or тАЬentranced horsesтАЭ possess the bodies of devotees and perform self-torture to absorb the evil from their host bodies to themselves. тАЬHandlersтАЭ are assigned to entranced devotees to escort them around town with spears, poles and lanterns protruding from their skin, according to the festivalтАЩs Web site, PhuketVegetarian.com.
Celebrants keep a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet for part of all of the 10-day festival to avoid inflicting pain and suffering on any life form, with the exception of themselves.
The Phuket Public Health Office advises adherents to sterilize the instruments before inserting them into the skin and тАЬtake stepsтАЭ to prevent viral and bacterial infection, the Phuket Gazette reports.
тАЬApart from the risks associated with sharp objects, we are also checking to ensure that proper hygiene is being maintained at food stalls by giving advice to vendors,тАЭ the health office told the newspaper. Samples of vegetarian food is inspected for safety, the health office reassures.
Click here to visit the Phuket festival's Web site.