The Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The Festival traces its origin back to the early 1800's when Chinese tin miners and others who had been stricken with a disease recovered by adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. 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 purpose of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals such as walking barefoot over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song".
A young devotee of the Chinese Shrine Gim Tsu Ong looks on prior to a fire-walking ceremony at the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand. AP
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