I stumbled across a very interesting cultural custom the other day from a place called Phuket in Thailand.
We have our own festivals here in the States. There is the famous Burning Man Festival in some desert somewhere. There is the lighting of that big-ass Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. That's a festival, right? There's the huge event of watching a giant, electrically-lit apple drop toward the ground on New Year's Eve in New York City. There's football on Thanksgiving with the Cowboys and the Lions. There's Thanksgiving itself. There's Christmas itself. There's New Year's itself.
We have our own local festivals for our regions, states, counties, cities, towns, and communities.
In Phuket, Thailand, however, they have the festival of festivals. They don't just serve up some vegetarian food, display purchasable wares, line-up musical artists and performers, have some speakers, and call it a vegetarian festival. No! In Phuket, Thailand, they put bicycle frames and lamps through the skin of their cheeks. They walk across hot beds of coals. They ascend and descend ladders made of sharpened blades. They parade around and chant. Then, and only then, do they call it the Vegetarian Festival.
Now I don't think it's fair to sit here and write about the Vegetarian Festival, never having been there, and not go to visit. Yes, I plan on seeing this for myself. I would like to give a first-hand account as soon as I am allowed to leave the country.
Anyway, for those with curiosities larger than their aversions to blood and gore there are some links below which will take you there...
My question to you, which is mainly a question for thought and not necessarily for an answer: Do these people practice this custom, this cultural ritual, this annual rite, for the pure purposes of religious tradition and spirituality, for cultural cohesiveness, or do they practice this also for the foreign people snapping photos of the event and taking notes in their spirals?? Which is the stronger motivation, I wonder?
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm
newsid=13460692&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222087&rfi=6
http://www.hasekamp.net/vegetarian.htm
http://www.2camels.com/festival_photos62.php3
http://www.art-phuket.com/photos/photovegetarian.htm
http://www.thailandguidebook.com/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=2;t=5416;st=0
http://www.trv.net/phuket/general/stories/vegcal.htm
http://www.phuket-photos.com/frameme.php?page=vegetarian-festival.htm
http://www.ryeflorida.org/Students/Outbounds-04-05/dobbs.htm
http://www.westjaxrotary.org/clubinfo/project_details/jacob.asp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/features/2003/10/katie_weston.shtml
http://www.20six.co.uk/Bangatank/nextEntries/vv5pg41gf3lf
http://www.istc.org/sisp/?fx=event&event_id=93457
http://www.asiatour.com/thailand/e-06sout/et-so102.htm
http://www.regit.com/thailand/festival/vegetari.htm
http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_vegetarian.htm
http://www.thaipro.com/dir/Phuket/Phuket_Festival_1.html
http://phuket.sawadee.com/festival.htm
http://www.phuketgazette.com/issuesanswers/details.asp?id=127
http://www.phuket-resort-hotel.com/index.htm
http://www.happycow.net/asia/thailand/phuket/
http://www.phuket-photos.com/
http://www.phuket-info.com/
http://www.circleofasia.com/guide/Phuket.asp
http://www.thailandgrandfestival.com/festival.asp?festID=244
http://www.2camels.com/festival_photos62.php3
http://phuket.jouwpagina.nl/
http://www.peach-hill.com/index.htm
http://www.phuketthailand.com/htm/locfes.html
http://www.phuketgazette.com/bulletins/index.asp?Id=797
http://www.phuketdir.com/info/festivals.htm
http://www.amari.com/default.asp
http://www.phuketmagazine.com/
http://www.gothailandtours.com/vegetarian_2004/gtt_vegetarian.htm
http://sunsite.au.ac.th/thailand/special_event/vegetarian/
http://www.oceanresortgroup.com/phuket-festival.htm
http://andaman-island-hopping.com/articles/vegetarian.htm
http://www.phuket.com/island/vegie.htm
http://www.asiatour.com/thailand/e-06sout/et-so102.htm
http://www.beachpatong.com/photogallery/vegfestival/
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