Despite steady rain throughout the morning, crowds of both local residents and tourists gathered along Thepkasattri Rd and surrounding streets to pay respect and receive blessings from the deities paraded through the city.
The morning’s processions began with Jeng Ong Shrine, located opposite Vachira Phuket Hospital, where spirit mediums entered trance and performed astonishing acts of devotion. Many had their cheeks and bodies pierced with swords, knives and other sharp objects in symbolic demonstration of faith and endurance.
Tha Ruea Shrine, meanwhile, held a separate procession joined by Srisoonthorn Mayor Chalermpol Kerdsap, shrine committee members and faithful devotees. Participants carried incense, offerings and ceremonial banners as they invited the deity to bless the community, protect animals, and bestow good fortune on the island.
The Tha Ruea procession began near Phuket Rajabhat University, travelling down Thepkasattri Rd through the town centre and concluding at Saphan Hin, where festival ceremonies continue daily throughout the nine-day event.
Along the route, spirit mediums displayed their spiritual strength using a range of ritual instruments ‒ including spears, iron spikes, sickles and swords.
Among the Tha Ruea spirit mediums was a popular female figure known affectionately as ‘Princess Fan Lek’, representing grace and divine beauty. Carrying a traditional fan, she danced with poise and precision, captivating the crowd with each movement as she led the shrine’s sacred entourage through the rain.
Despite the downpours, festival-goers described a strong sense of unity and spiritual energy throughout the day. Many participants said the rain itself was a blessing ‒ a purifying element that added to the sanctity of the occasion.
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival, celebrated annually across the island’s Chinese shrines, is renowned for its displays of devotion, self-mortification and purification rituals. The Iw Keng ceremonies are among the festival’s most anticipated highlights, when the deities of individual shrines are carried through the streets to bless homes and businesses along the route.
Tomorrow (Oct 26), the festival continues with the Bang Neow Shrine procession ‒ one of the largest and most elaborate of the week ‒ scheduled to depart from the shrine at 7am.