I can never get enough of this event. Here’s another festival that I’ve been top multiple times and always come away leaving with mixed emotions. What did I actually see? Spirits entering a person’s body, an exorcism, a spiritual cleansing? Was it the mind over coming pain? Or was this a farce, a spectacular event put on just for local and foreigners. I imagine it’s a little bit of all the above. Thousands come to Phuket, Thailand’s premier island, to witness the unthinkable.
The Thai-Chinese in Phuket have long passed on the vegetarian festival to purify mind and soul by refraining from meat consumption and meditating. Symbolising the presence of the deities throughout the festival are 9 lanterns lit up and placed aloft on Ko Teng poles. On the 6th day of the festival, there are religious processions and incredible displays of face-and-body piercing. On the last day, a “Koi Han” ceremony to exorcize ill fortune and a farewell ceremony for the deities at night.
The Vegetarian Festival sets the bar high for all other wild, wacky and bizarre festivals in the world.
I’ve uploaded these images and more into my Phuket Vegetarian Photoshelter Gallery:
When asked what is the most popular festival celebrated in Japan is, one that comes to mind is the Asakusa Shrine is Sanja Matsuri. As an annual celebration held on the third weekend of May, Sanja Matsuri festival is held to honor the three men that established Sensoji – Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari and Hajino Nakatomo. Large scale parades, traditional music, dances, Geisha shows and taiko performances are among the activities lined up over three days. I’ve been to the festival 3 times while in Japan. It never fails. Despite it’s originally a religious festival, Sanja Matsuri is celebrated in a loose manner, so the streets are busy with giant crowds and perpetual loud music.
Everyone is having good time and challenges between the neighborhoods, each with it’s own Matsuri, are really exciting to watch. It’s like a dance, a perpetual wave of motion, up and down, side to side. The Matsuri’s are carried around each neighborhood for 3 days. On the final day the Matsuri’s are carried to the Asakusa Shrine at night for a religious spell bounding finale. I leave the shrine close to midnight exhausted.
Some Matsuris weigh several tons. I have a small one at home in a glass case. Matsuri are the fabric of Japan festivals.
A rare vantage point to capture the procession entering the shrine.
Everyone wants to carry or touch the Matsuri.
More images can be found at my Photoshelter Gallery:
The Tenjin Festival is a spectacular boat festival held at the Osaka Tenman-guu Shrine in Osaka. Millions attend this epic event, known as one of the three great festivals of Japan, and also as the greatest boat festival in the world. It reflects Osaka’s mercantile, canal-centric history as Japan’s “city of water.” The Tenjin Matsuri’s history reaches back 1,000 years, and is dedicated to Sugawara-no-Michizane, who is enshrined and worshipped as the Tenman Tenjin, the god of learning and the arts. Needless to say, it is an important time for Osakans, and is a huge part of Osakan culture.
Some 3000 people dressed in gorgeous traditional imperial-court style of the 8th-12th Centuries march in a parade on the festival day of 25 July. Led by a portable shrine (mikoshi) housing the enshrined Sugawara no Michizane, the land procession (rikutogyo) heads towards the Nakanoshima area. At Tenjimbashi Bridge, the participants board some 100 boats for the boat procession (funatogyo), the climax of the festival. At dusk, the boats with countless torches and lanterns proceed from the Hokonagashi Bridge on the Dojimagawa River to Enokoshima, creating a spectacular pageant that passes in front of spectators and reflects beautifully on the water. The festival ends in the evening with a grand display of over 1000 magnificent fireworks (hanabi), marking a festival of fire and water. Other events include traditional Japanese performing arts such as kagura music, bunraku and Noh theatrical performances.
More images can be found at my Photoshelter Gallery:
The Surin Elephant Round-up usually takes place on the third weekend of November in Surin province, Isan, Thailand.
Thai’s descend on this place by every conceivable means of transport – buffalo, rickshaw, pedicar, lorry, van, car, motor cycle , some even by elephant, – there is seemingly no limit to the mode of transport used. People come from the far ends of the Kingdom even foreigners pour in bus and train loads from the likes of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. They all come to see what Asia’s largest animal – the lovable elephant – can do and they rarely go away disappointed.
The Thai people hold the giant, grey elephant in great esteem, especially the festival participants many of where are from the village of Tai Klong, which is around 40km north of Surin. The Asian elephant is slightly larger than the African one but the Thais even believe the shape of their country resembles the head of the elephant.
Luang Prabang is a small town near the confluence of the Mekong River and its tributary the Nam Khane. The Lan Xang kingdom unified the country of Laos in the 14th century and Luang Prabang became its capital. The town since then has been known as a Mecca for Theravada Buddhism, also known as Hinayama Buddhism. The influence of this early form of Buddhism resulted in 80 monasteries in the town. Luang Prabang gets very little visitors compared to it’s neighbor Thailand, but one attraction that stands out and hasn’t changed over a century is the morning Alms for the local Buddhist monks. You have to get up very early to participate since the monks are up at 5 am. People in town come out to the street and wait for the monks. Luang Prabang has approximately 16,000 people and around 1200 monks, almost 10% of the total population. The alms processions of Buddhist monks take place every day. The townspeople are devout Buddhists; they place sticky rice into the alms bowls.
My images below can also be found on my Photoshelter site and in my Gallery section.
The Elephant Round-up in Thailand’sSurinprovince in November was hard to pass up. I’m a self professed collector of elephant souvenirs….wood, metal, lacquer….I have them all. When I heard 250 Elephants would be part of the festival I jumped on the next bus leaving from Bangkok.
Surin is a rarely visited province in the northeast of Thailand. But once a year, on the third weekend of November, the spotlight is directed at the province as the venue for one of the most exciting spectacles of the year-the annual Elephant Round-Up. Surin has long been associated with elephants. Walking around town you can see dozens of elephants, statues of elephants and even shrines devoted to the elephant. The locals are well recognized for their skill in capturing and rounding up wild elephants as well as training and taming them. Surin is often known as the ‘province of elephants’.
The majestic Thai elephant has long been a central element in Thai culture and has held a respected place in Thai history. A symbol of power and grace, the elephant was revered by the ancient kings. Elephants have been prominently featured in Thai legend, literature, art and architecture, and during the reign of King Rama II, an image of the auspicious elephant, symbolic of the King, was featured on the flag.
The majority of elephant owners and mahouts in Thailand today are descendants of the “Kui” tribe (or “Suay” in Thai). They are thought to have migrated from Cambodia to settle largely in the northeastern provinces near the Cambodian border. Known for their expertise in capturing, domesticating and training wild elephants, the life-long relationship of the mahout with his elephant is an integral element of Kui culture, tradition and the way of life. The elephant is his companion and a family member.
A tug of war between 100 people and one mighty bull elephant was naturally won by the bull elephant.
In daily life, as man and elephant depend on each other, the elephant is treated as part of the ‘family’. The everyday life of the Thai elephant and its keeper, the mahout, is the central theme of the world-famous Surin elephant round-up held annually. The majority of elephant owners and mahouts in Thailand today are descendants of the “Kui” tribe (or “Suay” in Thai). They are thought to have migrated from Cambodia to settle largely in the northeastern provinces near the Cambodian border. Known for their expertise in capturing, domesticating and training wild elephants, the life-long relationship of the mahout with his elephant is an integral element of Kui culture, tradition and the way of life. The elephant is his companion and a family member.
Part of the 8 act program included a reenactment of a Royal elephant battle between Ayotaya troop and Hong Sawadee troop.
All I know about tea is that it is good for you, especially green tea. So I decided to check out the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony.  At first glance a Japanese tea ceremony looks like a quite simple proceeding, but in fact it’s an incredibly complex ritual evoking themes with a deep cultural resonance.  Said to have been introduced to Japan in the 9th century from China, the tea ceremony eventually evolved into a distinctively Japanese rite. The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony traces its origins to the late 16th century and feudal warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi who held large tea ceremonies to promote and encourage interest in the activity.
The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony, held at the Hama Rikyu Gardens, provided participants with the opportunity to casually participate in a cha-kai (tea ceremony). You could choose to either take part in a Cha-seki indoor tea ceremony or the Nodate outdoors Tea Ceremony under the autumn sky (referred to as a Nodate tea ceremony).
