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LAST UPDATE: Thursday October 23, 2003

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Chinese Temples and Shrines
 

It’s interesting. The Chinese of Phuket have virtually all lost their original language, speaking only Thai. They are Buddhists and often use normal Thai temples and partake in Thai religious ceremonies. But at the same time they also maintain their close links with their traditional gods through their own temples and shrines.

There are many Chinese shrines on Phuket, though only a half dozen are significant in size and command a large following. Four or five major ones can be found in Phuket town, and are worth visiting. One may enter, though it is expected that visitors remain quiet and unobtrusive whenever there are worshippers present.

The local Chinese are descended from immigrants from the southern-most provinces of China, and from Hainan Island. The gods housed in the shrines here were brought from the island of Hainan during the 1800s, and because they were considered instrumental in stopping a local epidemic among Chinese coolies in the tin mines, they have attained an exalted status similar to ‘patron’ gods of the island. Each year during the annual Vegetarian Festival the gods of each shrine are brought from their resting places and paraded through the streets in boisterous parades accompanied by a virtual war of firecrackers.