Nine Emperor Gods Festival

The tradition & historical record

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Min Nan Chinese: 九皇爺誕; Malay: Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; Thai: เทศกาลกินเจ or เทศกาลกินผัก (called in southern Thailand)) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, celebrated primarily in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand by the Peranakans community. In Thailand, this festival is called thetsakan kin che (เทศกาลกินเจ), the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout Thailand, with the festivities at their height in Phuket, where over the half of the population is Peranakans. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed. The Vegetarian Festival takes place at the same time as the Hindu festival Navaratri. ¹

During the Vegetarian Festival, shops in Phuket and throughout Thailand display red and yellow jay flags (เจ) to indicate they are serving appropriate vegan food for observant participants. Vegan food is prepared because it is considered the most pure. During the festival, food stalls sell Thai and Chinese food made without animal products. Noodle dishes, curries and soups are prepared without meat, fish sauce, eggs or dairy. Realistic vegetarian meats are used instead. The dishes are prepared without the use of garlic, chili, or strong spices. Many varieties of tofu are prepared and sold during the festival. Popular dishes are vegetarian pink noodle soup, which uses mushrooms to substitute pork blood cubes, fried tofu, deep-fried spring roll, and fried taro. ¹

In addition to eating pure food, festival participants must keep their thoughts pure and wear white as a symbol of purity. Also to maintain purity devout festival participants abstain from sex, alcohol and stimulants during the festival. ¹

Phuket has the largest festival, but many other cities in Thailand celebrate the festival as well. Bangkok and Chiang Mai also have many vendors selling vegan food during the festival. In 2023, the Michelin Guide-listed restaurant at the Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit advertised an extensive vegetarian menu for the festival. Hat Yai had more than 100 vegetarian food stalls during the 2022 festival. It was also reported that Chinese temples in Hat Yai stockpiled vegetarian food in advance of the festival and hired more people. Many tourists come from Malaysia. Nan also has many vendors selling vegan food during the festival. The American chef Dan Sriprasert used the vegan recipes he learned to make at his mother's food stall in Nan during the festival to create the menu for the popular Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro in the United States. Malls in Thailand participate in the festival that include the CentralWorld, Central Phuket, Central Pattana, and Central Hatyai. ¹

The Vegetarian Festival has significant economic impact on the nation. In 2023, the festival was forecast to generate revenue of 44.6 billion baht, a forecast 5.5% increase over 2022 revenue and the highest in 10 years. ¹

The Nine Emperor Gods Jiǔ Huáng Xīng Jūn / Jiǔ Huáng Da Di (九皇星君/九皇大帝) are the nine sons manifested by Father Emperor Zhou Yu Dou Fu Yuan Jun (斗父周御國王天尊) and Mother of the Big Dipper Dou Mu Yuan Jun (斗母元君) who holds the Registrar of Life and Death. Today, most Nine Emperor God temples do not acknowledge the existence of Dou Fu Yuan Jun. However, Dou Fu Yuan Jun is invoked alongside Dou Mu Yuan Jun in Great Dipper Honouring known as Li Dou (禮斗) ceremonies. ¹

According to Rev. Long Hua, the 35th generation Taoist priest from Singapore, honouring the Northern Dipper stars prolongs one's life, eliminate calamities, and absolves sins and past debts of oneself and his family. The term Ye (爺) as in Jiu Huang Ye (九皇爺) loosely translates as "Grandfather", a title worshipers commonly use to bring a more intimate relationship between themselves and the Nine Emperors. The Nine Emperor Gods should not be mixed up with the Wang Ye or Princes of the Ming loyalists. Popular folk culture has it that the Nine Emperor Gods are actually loyalists of the Ming dynasty who fought against Qing dynasty. According to Long Hua, this information is inaccurate and considered derogatory to the actual teachings of Taoism as the Nine Emperor Gods are actually high-ranking Star Lords who preside over the movement of planets and coordinate mortal Life and Death issues. The Nine Emperors is formed by the seven stars of the Big Dipper of the North Ursa Major (visible) and two assistant stars (invisible to most people). ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nine Emperor Gods Festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Nine Emperor Gods Festival is Taoist celebration in Southeast Asia, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 6 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²