Swords, musical instruments and bicycles are among the things followers thread through holes in their cheeks during the nine-day-long event in Phuket, Thailand
SWORDS, musical instruments, bicycles and even a model boat were among the bizarre array of objects pushed through people’s cheeks at a gruesome religious festival in Thailand this week.
Believers on the sun-kissed tropical island of Phuket – famed as a popular holiday destination and party spot – took to the streets to show their devotion at the gruesome vegetarian festival.
Many Chinese communities across Southeast Asia abstain from eating meat this week for the annual Taoist "Nine Emperor Gods" festival.
But few do it with the enthusiasm and shock factor of Phuket's inhabitants.
Throughout the week followers show the strength of their beliefs by taking part in ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials.
These include running over hot coals and piercing their bodies with a bizarre– and stomach-turning – variety of objects.
At a temple on the outskirts of Phuket's main town yesterday, dozens of people put themselves to the test.
Decked out in flowing robes they worked themselves into a trance-like frenzy against a constant backdrop of beating drums – something they say allows them to feel no pain.
One man shook his head from side to side before another stabbed a hole in his cheek with a large metal spike, watched over by medics.
The bowsprit of a large model boat was then threaded through the hole before he joined a parade through town to show off their new facial accessories.
"It's an unforgettable experience," 55-year-old Canadian tourist Barry Rafftery said as he looked on mesmerised. "I'm surprised by the lack of blood."
And fellow Canadian traveller Julie Bedford, 33, couldn’t believe her eyes after seeing the scale of festival.
She said: "I figured there might be a handful but everywhere you look people are getting their faces pierced."
Phuket boasts a sizeable Chinese population, most of whom trace their roots back to Hokkien-speaking areas in southeast China.
Local folklore has it that the island started celebrating the vegetarian festival after 1825 when a mysterious illness struck a group of visiting opera singers from China.
According to the legend, the stricken entertainers were miraculously cured after adopting a vegetarian diet and paying homage to the Nine Emperor Gods.
The festival emphasises purification, embodied by the giving up of meat for nine days and dressing in white.
Participants must abide by a series of strict rules throughout the festival – including abstaining from sex, boozing and gambling.
But what makes Phuket stand out from the crowd is the devotees who choose to self-mutilate.
Later in the week, some also test their faith by running barefoot across burning coals or climbing ladders with razor-sharp blades on the steps.
A taxi driver, who gave his nickname Chang (Elephant), said he had no plans to skewer his body with novelty items.
But he insisted he had been abiding by the abstinence rules.
“It has already brought me good luck,” he grinned. “Last week, there was no work but yesterday I had many fares after praying to Lord Buddha.”
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