Mah Songs parade through Phuket Town exciting tourists and locals
PHOTOS: Phuket Hot News
Today, the Sapam and Bangku Shrines started their Mah Song parade, also known as ‘Lew Geng’ around the the main city of Phuket, in Phuket Town on the island’s east coast. The parades in the annual vegetarian festival are are feature of the 10 day event and attract thousands of tourists to the island in increasing numbers every year. The traditions of the Phuket vegetarian festival are based on ancient Chinese traditions of appeasing the gods to rid the bad luck and invite prosperity for the next year.
Much of Phuket’s Thai population are ethnically Thai-Chinese following the days when Chinese traders plied the Malacca Strait when Phuket was an important tradition hub between the East and West.
The parades were filled with both male and female Mah Song who had pierced their cheeks earlier in the morning in elaborate, secretive ceremonies, using different types of items from smaller steel skewers and swords, up to large tools and machinery items.
It’s believed that the display of piercings, and the parades around the streets with fireworks, will eliminate unfortunate events from people who join the vegetarian festival.
Some of the items used in the piercing process are originals as spoken about in legend, including swords and traditional lances from the five precincts in China. But some of them are weapons that are not mentioned in the legend. Recently the items have been getting larger and more bizarre, thought to be more for the cameras and the tourists as ‘shock value’, and less about the original traditions.
The parades from Sapam and Bangku Shrines were heading to the Saphan Hin Cape in order to collect the holy joss stick and candle smoke and bring it back to their shrines.
Along the parade, there were thousands of locals as well as tourists who were mainly dressed in white and gathered to observe and welcome the noisy parade, even though it was raining at the time when the parade was passing the intersection at the Standard Charter Bank Building in Phuket Town.
The crowd remained on the sidewalk and observed the parade until the last row. If you get too close to the parade you are in real danger of ending up with a firecracker at your feet or being overwhelmed by the smoke.
Many Phuket Town locals – residents and shops, living along the parade route, set up a worship table and lit up fire crackers in front of their houses to encourage the Mah Songs to stop by and bless the family.
The route of the parades started from the entrances of the shrines, moved along Thepkasattri Road and through Phuket old town before reaching Saphan Hin park. Tomorrow, the parade will start from the Samkong Shrine and also tour around the city.
SOURCE: Phuket Hot News
