A well known form of vegetarianism in Thailand  is "Jey ". This is similar to what we know as vegan in the west. It excludes all animal products and pure Jey food even excludes garlic, onion and chilli.  The origins of this form of vegetarianism was brought to Thailand in the 18th century  by Chinese immigrants.

 

Thai's of Chinese desent now make up about 11% of the total population. The Chinese have been coming to Thailand for centuries but there was a mass migration in the 1800's, mostly from Southern China. Kathu district in Phuket was famous for tin ore and Chinese miners formed a large communitiy there.

 

This is where the Phuket Vegetarian Festival  began and the origin of Jey food food in Thailand. 

The details of the story are a little sketchy but it goes something like this......

A travelling drama troupe from China came to Phuket around 1825 and after staying there and performing  for a few months they were caught up in a malaria epidemic that was spreading throughout the island. The troup feared that this bad luck had befallen them because they had turned their backs on the old traditions and neglected to pay homage to the Nine Chinese Emperior Spirits they had left behind in their homeland.

 

They decided they must send an envoy back to China to perform a ceremony to symbolicially invite the Spirits from China to reside in Phuket, so on the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month of that year they performed the traditional Taoist purification rituals and shortly after that the epidemic seemed to disappear.


The local Chinese and local Thais were so impressed by this seemingly miraculous result, the following year to show their  grattitude they repeated the nine day long purification festival, one day in honor of each Spirit which they commenced at the start of the ninth lunar month.

 

This  became the annual event which is now known as the Phuket Vegetarian or "Jey" Festival 

( "Jia Chai" in the local Hokkien dialect )

 

 

 

 During the festival the participants must adhere to strict rules of abstinance such as refraining from consuming meat, drinking alcohol, having sex, thinking impure thoughts as well as practising strict personal hyigene.

 

 Many participants perform acts of self mutilation believing that if they are truly pure of mind and body the Spirits will enter them and they will be immune to pain. These acts are also believed to absolve the locals of their sins and bring good fortune to the local community.

Jey cuisine evolved from this festival as meat substitues using mushrooms, tofu and wheat gluten were prepared to replace real meat. 

 

 

Traditional Jey food was oily, bland and over cooked, comprising mostly of soggy cabbage and bland tofu dishes. Abstinence was the main theme and true Jey food excluded garlic, onion and chilli as these were believed to excite the  passions of mind and body.



Fortunately as the Jey concept was adapted into the Thai mainstream food culture the Thai spirit of fun and love for good food took over and Jey food  became something much more palatable. Jey food today still follows the main precepts of no meat or animal products and no onion or garlic but  you can't keep the spice out of Thai food and you will find chilli as an ingredient in most Thai Jey food. Most Jey restaurants will combine traditional Chinese dishes and Thai dishes just as in other Thai restaurants.

 

 

Although the Vegetarian festival was traditionally celebrated in Phuket and southern parts of Thailand, it has over the years grown in popularity and spread to wherever there are communities of Chinese decent throughout Thailand.  The elaborate rituals and self mutilation practices however are not performed outside Phuket  with the main emphasis  being on the vegetarian aspect of the festival.

 

 During this time many Thai-Chinese restaurants will replace the usual strongly meat based dishes with Jey alternatives. Small yellow flags with a red Thai or Chinese character that represents Jey food are handed out to all food vendors and restaurant owners whose  food qualifies as Jey for that period. At that time you will see these flags posted on  many stalls and outside restaurants. This is a good opportunity to partake in "street food" which is usually off the menu for strict vegetarians. Most of the big departments stores in Bangkok and Chiang Mai will also put on Jey food in their foodcourts during the festival.


The last few years Thais have become much more health conscious especially amoung the growing middle class and vegetarianism is gaining in popularity. Food companies have recognised this and use the Jey festival as a chance to promote their Jay friendly products so it's a good time to check out new vegetarian products on the market.

 

 

It is helpful to learn how to recognise the Chinese and Thai jey characters so you can pick out jey products in the shops. Most jey or vegan products will show either the Thai or Chinese jey character or both on the labels or packaging.....         

                                                           


 Thai

 

 

  Chinese

 

 

"Jey" or "Kin Jey" ("I eat Jey") has now become a generic term for vegetarianism throughout  Thailand wherever there are communities of Thai's of chinese decent. Most Thai's will recognise this term and it is very useful when ordering food in restaurants which don't have a specific vegetarian menu.