Jorg Sundermann - Nine Emperor

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival
Thailand - October 2016

It’s still dark outside, but the streets are already filled with people: worshippers, priests, spectators, photographers. And in the air; tendrils of smoke swirl up from lit incense sticks. It’s the start of the Phuket Nine Emperor Gods Festival; descendants of the early Chinese immigrants in Phuket, Thailand paying homage to the Nine Emperor Gods. The festival begins in the early morning with the welcoming of the gods into the temple where they are to be worshipped for nine days. Because devotees are supposed to abstain from meat during this time to purify their bodies, the festival is also known as Vegetarian Festival.

When the first Chinese immigrants came to Phuket in the early 19th century to chase their dream of a better life, most of them ended up working in the tin mines. They faced hardships and maladies. In order to protect themselves from adversaries in their new environment, they resorted to their traditional belief; asking protection from their gods. This tradition has survived through generations and economic changes.

Nowadays, the honouring of the Nine Emperor Gods has, with an eye on tourists, turned into a major festival in Phuket. The festivities are marked by processions, prayers, offerings, and, most conspicuously, by the piercing of rather large metal bars through the cheeks of daring worshippers.

Nine Emperor Gods Festivals are also held in other parts of Southeast Asia, in particular in the Chinese quarters of Bangkok, in Penang, Malaysia and in Singapore.