In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Every year in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendrical year, the city of Phuket in southern Thailand is gripped by an extraordinary and feverish period that stands in marked contrast to the normally placid and familiar routines of everyday life in Thailand’s far south.1 On the final day of the eighth month, at the principal Chinese temples (saan chow), vast throngs gather to watch the raising of a tall lantern pole and the invitation ceremonies for the Nine Emperor Gods (Kui Ong), who are asked to come down to earth to purify and enhance the powers of their devotees and to enhance the wellbeing of the city. The ritual discussed here is focused on three major shrines in Phuket city and another ten or so in nearby towns. The neighbouring province of Trang observes the rites with almost as much drama and fervour. Small temples and shrines dedicated to the same rites may be found all the way along the west coast from Phuket to Satun, and across the peninsular to Hat Yai, as well as in many locations along west coast Malaysia.2 The Nine Emperor Gods are the seven stars of the Big Dipper together with the two invisible stars of transformation, visible only to the eyes of the immortals. The Mother of the Nine Emperors is Doumu, a shadowy figure sometimes associated with the sea. Secret texts are located in sealed containers behind the shrines. But many devotees and participants in these rites in southern Thailand know nothing of this, for the mythological origin of these rites has been significantly disguised, as the event has become a part of southern Thai culture, at least for the public eye. The majority of the population in Phuket and Trang are Thai in citizenship and language, but their ancestors 2 The Moving Zones of China: Flows of Rite and Power in Southeast Asia Annette Hamilton 32 Annette Hamilton two to four generations previously were almost all from Fujian Province in southern coastal China, Hokkien speakers. Nevertheless, these rites form a central part of the Chinese heritage of the region and signify this all across the Kingdom and beyond. By the beginning of the rites, the devotees are already wearing white clothing and have begun to purify themselves, sometimes commencing two weeks before to adhere to a strictly vegetarian diet notable not only for the absence of meat but also for its “blandness” or lack of strong taste, since it is prepared without garlic, onions, chilis and other “strong” ingredients. Sexual abstention is also required. This event is known in Thai as Kin Jeh (“eat vegetarian”) and in English-language translations as the Vegetarian Festival. The streets are hung with banners, and the main roads and laneways leading to the major temples are lined with vendors selling specially prepared foods and vegetarian delicacies, many designed to look and taste as much like meat as possible. In the temple precincts, hundreds of devotees prepare huge vats of rice and vegetables with bean curd, and these simpler foods are taken home for family consumption by those who have registered in advance and paid a modest sum of money to do so. People bring their household images of Chinese deities to be placed on altars where the spiritual powers of the gods as manifested through entranced spirit mediums and carried by the dense fog of pungent incense will provide the figures of Kwan Im (Kwan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy, and others such as the gods of war and learning, with renewed power and vigour for the following year. The nine to ten days of the festival are each organised with precise reference to auspicious moments as determined by ritual specialists, and this timetable is made available in printed form throughout the town and repeated over loudspeaker systems in the temple grounds. Although there are minor differences in organization between different temples, the principal events are common throughout the areas celebrating the rites. The gods take up their places within the nine lanterns burning with candles on the high pole, surrounded by mediums who have flagellated themselves, hitting their backs with sharp swords and axes until covered in blood. The Nine Emperors dwell in the constellation which in Western astronomy is known as “the Big Dipper”; they leave their stellar homes and come to take up their places at precisely 11.00 p.m. on the night preceding the commencement of the ceremonies. The invitation rites in the past were...

Share