The Vegetarian Festival of Blood. Warning!

In Thailand, an interesting and yet gruesome, vegetarian, nine-day Taoist celebration is held beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.  The festival begins, near various waterways, with an invitation to the Nine Emperor Gods to come into the temple where they are to be worshipped for nine days. Devotees of the religion also believe that from their worship of these gods, they will gain wealth and longevity.

Worshippers at the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Thailand, perform lion and dragon dances as they make their way to the water. Those following, are dressed in white and carrying sedan chairs, with statues of the gods and the sacred urn, which they sway about to symbolise the presence of divine forces.

It is traditional in Thailand to eat vegetarian meals and to recite prayers. Some devotees, however, also perform ritualised mutilation upon themselves and others, which involves such actions as impaling knives or other implements through cheeks, arms, face, legs, back etc.; partial skinning (the skin is not removed, just cut and flipped over); slashing of limbs, chest, stomach and especially tongue with swords, axes and knives; bloodletting; removal of tissue (normally limited to cysts) and intentionally wrapping or standing near firecrackers as they are lit.

The gods are sent back to heaven on the 9th day.


Books To Read

Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time, by Michael Shermer, Stephen Jay Gould (Foreword)